Why Cyprus fears terrorist acts in the aftermath of the war in Israel
translation/Gist: N.Mavromates
Despite the traditionally good relations with the Arab world, Cyprus has many times been the target of terrorist acts by Palestinian or other Arab and Islamic organizations. The republic of Cyprus for many, many years has been perhaps one of the most important pillars of the Palestinian and Arab world in Europe. Its relations with Israel were good, but not at the level they have developed to in recent years, with trilateral cooperation, joint military exercises and cooperation in the energy sector.? However, the good relations it maintained with the Arabs did not exclude it from the circle of terrorism and there have been many occasions when Cyprus has been the target of terrorist acts, either by Palestinian or other Arab and Islamic organizations. Recently, Iran's secret services have also been involved in this peculiar war, despite categorically denying any responsibility for planning terrorist acts on the territory of Cyprus.
Terrorist fears
The developments in the Israel-Hamas war are unpredictable, but even the most ignorant person could assume that it is possible that terrorism could be exported, targeting either Israeli interests or other Western interests in the US and EU countries. The measures taken in Cyprus are similar to those taken after the Al-Qaeda attack on 11 September 2001, but everyone knows that they cannot be fully effective, as in recent years a large number of Muslims who support or belong to terrorist organizations have been in Cyprus as well as in other Western countries. The migratory waves of recent years have made it very difficult to control people who have become radicalized.
Cyprus is no exception. One could say that it faces an increased risk, since as a frontline country it has received and continues to receive large numbers of migrants, the control of which requires time-consuming procedures.
The greatest risk comes from Syrians who have joined Islamic groups that took part in the civil war and fled their country. Some of them have been found to have links with Islamic organizations and are therefore considered a risk to public safety.
Vigilance and alertness
The measures taken by the security authorities in Cyprus are obvious... and obvious, but that's not all. As part of an exchange of information with the intelligence services of Israel and other Western countries, individuals suspected of links with terrorist organizations have been placed under surveillance. The surveillance of these people is discretionary and is combined with information checks on their backgrounds and relationships. At the same time, measures are being taken at airports, ports and roadblocks and at the Green Line, where the presence of members of the army has been reinforced.
Particularly strict measures are in place at the airports to check travel documents and luggage, as well as in areas where thousands of people, including Israelis and other Westerners who have left Israeli territory via Cyprus, are moving through. The airport is also controlled from the sea, with frequent patrols by the Coast Guard.
Hard memories of terrorism
Cyprus has been in the eye of the hurricane several times due to terrorist activity, starting with the assassination of "Fatah" cadre Hussein al-Bashir in a Nicosia hotel. The murder was committed by Mossad by placing a bomb under Bashir's bed at the Olympic Hotel. Bashir participated in the Palestinian attack in Munich, Germany, during the 1972 Olympic Games, killing 11 Israeli athletes
This was followed by a bombing in April 1973 of the Israeli embassy in Nicosia and a simultaneous terrorist attack on an Israeli aircraft by "Fatah" Palestinians.
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When Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin visited Nicosia in 1979, Nicosia was shaken by a bomb explosion very close to the Israeli embassy.
This was followed by terrorist attacks on the offices of the Israeli company Zim in Limassol in 1981 and a bomb attack again outside the Israeli embassy in 1984. In both cases the Palestinians claimed responsibility. In 1985, Fatah members killed three Israelis in the port of Larnaca by assaulting the yacht they were on.? In 1988, the terrorist group 'Abu Nidal' (Father of Battle), which belonged to the Fatah Revolutionary Council, blew up a truck full of explosives in Nicosia, killing three Cypriot policemen and wounding 35 civilians.
A hijacked 1988 Kuwaiti Airlines aircraft lands at Larnaca airport for refueling. While negotiations are underway for the surrender of the hijackers, they execute two passengers and dump their bodies on the airport tarmac. The aircraft left Cyprus and went to Algeria, where the hijacking ended.
After that act of terrorism, the Iranians, either through their collaborators or through Hezbollah, took over. In 2015, following information from Israeli intelligence, a Hezbollah member was arrested in Larnaca for storing in an apartment 8.2 tons of ammonia nitrate used to make explosives. The aim was to carry out terrorist acts against Israelis in Cyprus.
This follows the arrest in 2012 of another Hezbollah member in Limassol, who was planning to blow up tourist buses carrying Israelis.
This was followed by arrests in 2021 and 2023 of individuals acting on instructions from Iran's intelligence services who intended to assassinate Israeli businessmen in Cyprus.
?A battlefield at the airport
The bloodiest engagement on Cypriot soil, on the occasion of the Middle East conflict, was recorded in February 1978. Jordanian Shari Moham Qatar and Kuwaiti Zayet Ali assassinate Egyptian Yousef el-Sebai, a personal friend of Egyptian President Anwar Sadat, at the Hilton Hotel in Nicosia. The assassination was in reaction to the signing of the Camp David agreements and the Egypt-Israel rapprochement.
Yousef el-Sebai was one of the members of Anwar Sadat's entourage during his visit to Israel. After the assassination, the two terrorists took 50 people hostage who were attending a conference of the Afro-Asian Solidarity Movement. Among the hostages were the former Speaker of the Cyprus Parliament, Vassos Lyssarides, a personal friend of Yasser Arafat, as well as the then Interior Minister, Christodoulos Veniamin, who had taken on the role of negotiator.
The terrorists requested a plane to leave Cyprus and released most of the hostages, but held 12 Arabs, Vassos Lyssarides and Christodoulos Veniamin.
?When they boarded a plane provided by the Republic of Cyprus, they released the two Cypriot politicians and left in an unknown direction. After flying over Libya, Crete and Saudi Arabia, it was forced to land for refueling in Djibouti, as no country would accept the aircraft. After refuelling, the terrorists headed back to Cyprus, having received assurances that they would be given Cypriot passports to depart for a country of their choice.
While the aircraft was parked at Larnaca airport, a transport aircraft with 70 Egyptian commandos arrived in Cyprus, without informing the Republic of Cyprus. When it became clear that the Egyptians were preparing an operation to eliminate the terrorists, the Cypriot government mobilized a group of soldiers. The Egyptians carried out a surprise attack on the aircraft controlled by the terrorists and then a battle with the Cypriot soldiers began. The battle killed 15 Egyptian commandos and one Cypriot civilian. Several other Egyptian and Cypriot soldiers were injured.
The two terrorists were arrested and sentenced to death, with the sentence commuted to life imprisonment, while Egypt severed diplomatic relations with Cyprus, with Anwar Sadat calling Cyprus President Spyros Kyprianou a "midget" who will pay for the death of the Egyptian commandos. Cyprus-Egypt relations were restored officially once more in 1984.