Jerusalem, Israel. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Cyprus is part of his plans to create a “hexagon of alliances” for Israel in the region. He outlined the proposal ahead of a meeting of Israel’s cabinet on Sunday.
Netanyahu outlines proposed regional alliance system
Netanyahu said Israel would create “an entire system, essentially a kind of hexagon of alliances, around or within the Middle East,” including India, Arab national and African nations, Mediterranean nations such as Greece and Cyprus, and nations in Asia he did not detail.
He said the aim was to “create an axis of countries that see reality, the challenges, and the goals in the same way, in contrast to the radical axes,” which he described as “both the radical Shiite axis, which we have hit very hard, and also the emerging axis, the radical Sunni axis.”
Netanyahu said the countries involved share a different outlook and that cooperation could yield “very great fruits” and “ensure our strength and our future.”
Cyprus defence minister denies reports of rapid reaction force
Discussion of deepening ties between Cyprus and Israel followed comments by Cypriot Defence Minister Vasilis Palmas, who denied reports that Cyprus, Israel and Greece were planning to create a military “rapid reaction force” to counter Turkish forces in the eastern Mediterranean.
Palmas said such decisions are made by political leadership and added that no such issue had been raised or discussed. Asked whether the idea would be an “unlikely or fantasy scenario,” he said that even if a meeting were to take place with different contents, it would be wrong to bring confidential issues to light.
Turkey-Israel tensions and UN comments on Gaza and the West Bank
Netanyahu did not mention Turkey by name, but his reference to a “radical Sunni axis” was seen as potentially aimed at Turkey amid strained relations following Israel’s launch of a military offensive in Gaza in 2023.
Turkey’s permanent representative at the United Nations, Ahmet Yildiz, accused Israeli forces of “recurrent attacks and restrictions on humanitarian assistance” in Gaza, saying humanitarian assistance entering Gaza must be significantly increased and must flow unhindered.
Yildiz also referred to Israel’s presence in the West Bank and said the UN Security Council must “compel Israel to halt its escalation in the occupied West Bank to fully implement the ceasefire arrangements and to bring its illegal occupation to an end.”
What impact could Netanyahu’s proposed “hexagon of alliances” have on Cyprus’ regional role?
