The government’s failure to deny reports about the presence of Israeli security personnel at the perimeter of the Larnaca Airport fence and in the air traffic control-tower was not a good sign. It suggested the reports were correct and that the Republic had surrendered the security of its main airport to the security forces of another state.

Only Akel found it necessary to ask about this, although it was not given an answer. “The silence of the government to Akel’s questions, with regard to the engagement of Israelis in the security of the airports is suspicious and increases the concern of citizens,” it said in a statement. It also asked: “Have the Israeli authorities asked for any involvement in the issues of security of either of the country’s airports, and if yes, what was the government’s response?”

These are perfectly legitimate questions, even though no answers have been forthcoming. Deputy government spokesman Yiannis Antoniou, avoided giving a straight answer on the matter, telling the Cyprus News Agency that all flights to and from Larnaca and Paphos airports were safe. He restricted himself to referring to Monday’s decision by the Israeli security services to stop flights of Israeli airlines, including national carrier El Al, in and out of Paphos, “for security reasons that cannot be made public.”

Meanwhile, on Tuesday, Israel’s embassy in Nicosia “categorically” denied a report it had issued security warnings to Israeli citizens in Cyprus. The embassy said the report, on a Russian-language, Israeli website, claiming the embassy had warned Israelis in Cyprus to stay at home, because of a high risk of terrorist attack, was “false and misleading.” This, combined with another false report claiming Israel’s ambassador in Nicosia had been kidnapped, appeared to have diverted attention away from the Larnaca airport information.

What has been happening at Larnaca airport, however, is a very important issue that the government has successfully swept under the carpet. Having security staff of Israel, which has so many open fronts in the region, patrolling the airports and having access to our air traffic control tower, apart from being very unwise, is a cession of sovereignty. Has it not occurred to our government that Israel security could take action here that could be harmful to Cyprus, because its mission is to protect Israel and its citizens?

This could be construed as a vote of no confidence by the government in its own security services. Why else is it relying on Israeli security for the airport? Even if the government felt Israel has much greater experience and expertise in dealing with terrorist threats, it could have sought advice and assistance rather than giving Shin Bet agents freedom of movement in Cyprus. The government could have had representatives of the Israeli state advising the local security agency on how to bolster security at the airport and other facilities and used Cypriot personnel to execute the plans.

If the Israeli government did not trust Cypriot personnel and insisted it used its own agents on the Republic’s territory, there should have been no cooperation. There may be something in the relations between the two governments that we do not know about, but on the surface, there is an appearance of Cyprus subservience to Israel.