The foreign minister, George Lillikas, asked for financial help from European countries to help the island cope with the influx.

The letter contains … no statements on the Iranian nuclear program” and also does not address the current fighting in Lebanon, Merkel’s spokesman, Ulrich Wilhelm, told reporters. He said it was devoted largely to criticism of Israel and its right to exist.

It would be astonishing if Hizbullah and Israel were not now both reflecting on the old adage that it is easier to start a war than to stop one.