Experts believe that war between Israel and Hezbollah remains unlikely, and Hezbollah's mention of Cyprus adds a new dimension to the Israeli-Hamas conflict in Gaza.
Speaking on television during a memorial service for a Hezbollah commander killed in an Israeli attack, Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of the Hezbollah movement in Lebanon, warned of an “unrestricted” war against Israel. Notably, the Hezbollah leader also threatened Cyprus for the first time, saying that Hezbollah could consider the country “part of the war” if it continued to allow Israel to use its airports and bases for military exercises.
According to CNN, Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides immediately declared that his country "has never and will not facilitate any act of aggression or attack against any country." The European Union (EU) also stated that Cyprus is an EU member, therefore "any threat to one of the member states is a threat to the EU."
According to Lebanese state media, in an effort to control the damage, Lebanese Foreign Minister Abdallah Bou Habib telephoned his Cypriot counterpart, Constantinos Kombos, expressing Lebanon's "continued confidence in Cyprus's positive role in supporting regional stability."
Located in the Eastern Mediterranean, on the geopolitical fault line between the Middle East and Southern Europe, Cyprus is geographically closer to the conflicts in the Middle East than to the centers of European power. Diplomatic relations between Cyprus and Israel began in 1960, after the island gained independence from British colonial rule, but Cyprus did not open an embassy in Tel Aviv until 1994. Relations became strained in the 1980s and 1990s due to issues related to Israel's relationship with Turkey and the Arab-Israeli conflict, in which Cyprus sided with Arab states and supported the Palestinian state.
By the late 1990s and 2000s, relations improved as Israel began shifting its focus to economic cooperation in the Eastern Mediterranean. Israel also turned to Cyprus as a partner to counter regional threats, particularly from groups linked to Turkey and Iran. In recent years, Israel has used Cypriot territory to train troops in anticipation of a potential war with Hezbollah. Since March, Cyprus has allowed aid ships to depart from its ports; it has also agreed to allow the opening of an EU logistics center on its territory as part of an international effort to create a sea route for humanitarian aid to Gaza. Nicosia has criticized some of Israel's actions in Gaza. In April, Cyprus issued a joint statement with the UAE condemning the deadly Israeli attack on the World Central Kitchen charity group, which killed seven people…
However, while experts believe a war between Israel and Hezbollah remains unlikely, Hezbollah's mention of Cyprus adds a new dimension to the Israeli-Hamas conflict in Gaza. It means that for the first time, an EU country risks being directly drawn into the escalating conflict in Gaza.
VIET KHUE
Source: https://www.sggp.org.vn/khia-canh-moi-cua-cuoc-chien-post745961.html
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