‘Trying to dominate’: In Cyprus, some fear Israel’s growing influence

Cyprus’s growing ties with Israel reach essential sectors: state-owned Mekorot helps supply water, Israel Aerospace Industries is providing the island’s new air defences, and Israeli firms are expanding a hospital network and hold a stake in the country’s largest gasfield. Cypriot Christos Achniotis says Israel is seeking to expand its territorial, commercial, political and military influence. The Cypriot government presents the relationship as a security alliance against Turkey, but several people interviewed by Al Jazeera fear the country is becoming dependent on another state. Those concerns are sharpened by Israel’s much larger economy and military and Cyprus’s reliance on desalinated water.