IDF Brig. Gen. (Res.) Yair Kulas and Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Defense of the Republic of Cyprus, Mr. Andreas P. Louka. Photo: Ministry of Defense

Israel has clinched an agreement to build an electronic land surveillance and information system for Cyprus’s defense establishment along the United Nation’s Buffer Zone, also known as the Green Line.

The government-to-government agreement was signed by Brig. Gen. (Res.) Yair Kulas, Director of the International Defense Cooperation (SIBAT) and the Cypriot Ministry of Defense, Israel’s defense ministry stated. The monitoring system, which is intended to help monitor the inflow of irregular immigrants and smuggling activity along the dividing line, will be developed by Israel’s Elbit Systems as part of a three-year contract worth $32 million, Cypriot Defense Ministry spokesperson Christos Pieris told the Cyprus news agency.

The electronic surveillance system, which will be installed at various points along the 112-mile long Green Line, will produce images 24 hours a day and also gather military intelligence. Since 1974, the UN-controlled Buffer Zone separates the Turkish-controlled north of the Mediterranean island and the Greek Cypriot south.

Ambassador of Israel to Cyprus Oren Anolik said that the agreement marked an “important aspect of the excellent Israel-Cyprus bilateral cooperation.”

Commenting on the defense deal, Gallia Lindenstrauss, a senior research fellow at the Institute for National Security Studies (INSS) noted that as Turkey-Israel relations have deteriorated in the past decade, Israel has formed stronger relations with Greece and Cyprus.

“As part of the deepening of relations, Israeli companies have signed defense deals with Greece and now also with Cyprus,” Lindenstrauss said. “While the development of the Israel-Greece-Cyprus relations has been remarkable, in light of the growing tensions in the Eastern Mediterranean, there is a concern that Israel will become more entangled in the Cyprus issue in a way that would cause growing friction between Ankara and Jerusalem.”

Israel’s Defense Ministry said SIBAT’s Kulas also met with Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Defense of the Republic of Cyprus, Andreas P. Louka to further discuss cooperation in the areas of defense and security between the two countries.

Separately, Israel’s Prime Minister Naftali Bennett is said to be in advanced talks to organize a tripartite meeting with leaders of Cyprus and Greece in the coming weeks, as part of a Mediterranean summit to discuss regional, economic and security issues, according to a report Thursday by Israel’s Kan public broadcaster.