Israeli ship transfers from Cyprus ‘not part of Estia plan’
The transfer of Israeli citizens via ships from Cyprus into Israel is not part of the ‘Estia’ plan, government spokesman Konstantinos Letymbiotis said on Monday.
His statement came after Israeli Transport Minister Miri Regev had announced plans to operate “maritime shuttles” from Cyprus to Israel to help Israeli citizens who wish to travel to the country from abroad to do so, as heightened tensions in the Middle East have seen many airlines reduce their service to the region.
Regev had added that the sailings from Cyprus would work in tandem with flights of Hercules military planes from elsewhere into Israel.
Letymbiotis on Monday clarified that the chartering of the flights and the ships had been done by the State of Israel and not by the Republic of Cyprus, and that this had nothing to do with the ‘Estia’ plan, Cyprus’ existing plan to deal with mass evacuation events of European Union and third country nationals from neighbouring countries in times of crisis.
“[Regev’s] statements do not concern the transport of Israeli citizens to Cyprus. They concern the transportation of Israeli nationals to Israel on their own ships. I understand it is not in consultation with the Republic of Cyprus,” he said.
He added that the Cypriot government is “still focused on preparing for any activation of the ‘Estia’ plan”.
With this in mind, he said the government is “monitoring the situation”, and that “all of us hope and wish that there will be no further escalation of the crisis in the region.”
His statements come as Cypriot Transport Minister Alexis Vafeades said “everyone is on their toes” in anticipation of further developments in the Middle East.
He said that air connectivity between Cyprus and Israel “is being maintained”.
“Some airlines have chosen to temporarily stop their flight schedule to Tel Aviv, but there are also companies which are continuing their flights as normal,” he said.
Two airlines which ordinarily operate flights between Larnaca and Tel Aviv, Aegean Airlines and Wizz Air, have suspended their operations on the route. Cyprus airports’ operator Hermes Airports told the Cyprus News Agency (CNA) on Monday that the loss of those flights has been balanced by other airlines offering additional flights.
In addition, they said, flights to Lebanese capital city Beirut “do not seem to be affected at the moment”.
Tensions in the Middle East are continuing to simmer, with Israel having continued its strikes on Lebanon, and Hezbollah also having launched a drone attack on northern Israel on Monday.
Meanwhile, Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani said his country was not looking to escalate tensions, but that it is “necessary” to punish Israel in response to Israel’s killing of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh last week in the Iranian capital city, Tehran.
“No one has the right to doubt Iran’s legal right to punish the Zionist regime,” he added.
On Sunday night, Turkey joined a growing list of countries to issue official advice against travel to Lebanon.
The country advised its citizens to avoid all non-essential travel to Lebanon and said its citizens already in Lebanon should avoid all non-essential travel to the governorates of Nabatiyeh, South Lebanon, Beqaa, and Baalbek-Hermel, in the south and east of the country.
They also echoed earlier statements from the United Kingdom’s foreign ministry, saying Turkish citizens in Lebanon should leave the country while commercial flights are still operating.
British Foreign Minister David Lammy had last week posted a video on social media in which he said, “my message to British nationals in Lebanon is clear – leave.”
Cyprus’ foreign ministry last week issued a reminder that it has since October 29 last year advised against all travel to Lebanon, while the United States’ embassy in Beirut said on Sunday night it “reminds US citizens to review the current travel advisory, which strongly urges US citizens to reconsider travel to Lebanon”.
The French foreign ministry also issued a statement last week saying, “it remains imperative that French nationals do not travel to Lebanon, to Israel, or to the Palestinian territories”.
The Greek foreign ministry also issued a short statement, in which it said, “it is recommended to avoid visits to Lebanon, except for those which are absolutely necessary”, while they also recommended that Greek nationals in Lebanon depart the country.