Spyros and MPs snub Israel

By Charlie Charalambous

HOUSE president Spyros Kyprianou said yesterday he was ready to postpone a trip to Israel following the capture of two Israelis charged with spying against Cyprus.

Kyprianou had officially been invited to Israel by the Knesset, and planned to go in January, but now the trip could be postponed until March.

“Maybe at some point a visit will have a positive result rather than a negative one,” he said.

“The spy case has happened in the meantime and I can’t say this hasn’t been taken into account. I will wait for the outcome of the case and I’m in contact with the Foreign Ministry,” said Kyprianou, who is also acting president until Clerides returns on Sunday from Athens.

Israeli nationals Udi Argov and Igal Damari will appear before a criminal court in Larnaca on December 8 to answer the spying charges.

Ever since the Israelis were arrested on November 7, relations between Israel and Cyprus have nosedived while the political consequences still rumble on.

On Thursday, the House Defence Committee decided to block approval of funds for the National Guard to buy bullet-proof vests from the Israeli arms industry.

Incensed at what it perceived as Israeli meddling in Cyprus, the committee refused to approve the release of £140,000 needed for the purchase of 1,500 Israeli-made bulletproof vests.

The decision was made despite the fact that National Guard officials said the vests were necessary to protect the lives of soldiers manning Nicosia’s perilous Green Line.

All necessary defence spending must be approved by the House before orders can be secured.

“I don’t want to comment on this specific example, but there is concern, not only about spying but also huge concern about the continued alliance between Turkey and Israel,” said Kyprianou.

Earlier this week, Defence Minister Yiannakis Omirou wrapped Israel on the knuckles for allowing Turkish fighter jets on its soil after they had violated Cyprus air space.

The Cyprus Mail is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Cyprus. It was established in 1945 and today, with its popular and widely-read website, the Cyprus Mail is among the most trusted news sites in Cyprus. The newspaper is not affiliated with any political parties and has always striven to maintain its independence. Over the past 70-plus years, the Cyprus Mail, with a small dedicated team, has covered momentous events in Cyprus’ modern history, chronicling the last gasps of British colonial rule, Cyprus’ truncated independence, the coup and Turkish invasion, and the decades of negotiations to stitch the divided island back together, plus a myriad of scandals, murders, and human interests stories that capture the island and its -people. Observers describe it as politically conservative.