Netanyahu names Cyprus in plans for ‘hexagon of alliances’ for Israel

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday said Cyprus is part of his plans to create a “hexagon of alliances” for Israel in the region.

“We will create an entire system, essentially a kind of hexagon of alliances, around or within the Middle East, including India, Arab national, African Nations, Mediterranean nations – Greece and Cyprus – and nations in Asia that I won’t detail at the moment,” he said ahead of a meeting of Israel’s cabinet.

He added that the aim of this “hexagon of alliances” it to “create an axis of countries that see reality, the challenges, and the goals in the same way, in contrast to the radical axes”, listing those axes as “both the radical Shiite axis, which we have hit very hard, and also the emerging axis, the radical Sunni axis”.

“All these countries share a different outlook, and cooperation between us can yield very great fruits, and, of course, ensure our strength and our future,” he said.

Suggestions of deepening ties between Cyprus and Israel come after Cypriot Defence Minister Vasilis Palmas had denied reports that the governments of Cyprus, Israel, and Greece are planning to combine to create a military “rapid reaction force” to counter Turkish forces in the eastern Mediterranean.

“I am telling you that these issues which have such a high level of decisions are made by the political leadership, and as the political head of the defence ministry, I am telling you that no such issue has been raised and we have not discussed any issue,” he said.

Asked whether the idea would be an “unlikely or fantasy scenario”, he said that “even if a meeting were to take place which had different contents, it would be wrong for us to bring some confidential issues to light”.

While Netanyahu on Sunday did not mention Turkey by name, his mention of a “radical Sunni axis” may have been somewhat aimed at Turkey, particularly with relations between the two countries having soured in the aftermath of Israel’s launch of a military offensive in Gaza in 2023.

Most recently, Turkey’s permanent representative at the United Nations Ahmet Yildiz accused Israeli forces of “recurrent attacks and restrictions on humanitarian assistance” in Gaza, adding that “humanitarian assistance entering Gaza must be significantly increased and, most importantly, must flow unhindered”

He also made reference to the ongoing Israeli presence in the West Bank, saying that 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”.

Terse words between Israel and Turkey briefly centred on Cyprus last year, with Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar referencing the Cyprus problem in response to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan saying that Netanyahu “has long surpassed the cruel Hitler in the crime of genocide”.

Sa’ar said that it is “particularly ironic that someone who does not hide his imperialist ambitions, someone who invaded northern Syria and illegally holds northern Cyprus, claims to speak in the name of morality and international law” and added that “a little self-awareness could be helpful”.