Steps taken within the EU and NATO, military and defense industry partnerships, energy, economic, and diplomatic cooperation.
Steps taken within the EU and NATO, military and defense industry partnerships, energy, economic, and diplomatic cooperation.
By Adem Kılıç, Political Scientist
The process that began on October 7, 2023, with Hamas’s “Aksa Tufanı” operation and continued with Israel’s extensive attacks that turned into a genocidal war against Gaza, has led to new deep fractures and alliances not only in the Palestinian arena but also on the global stage.
One of the most notable developments in this new equation is the emergence of the Greece-Israel alliance, following Türkiye’s firm stance against Israel and its expansion of influence in Syria.
Despite the killing of tens of thousands of civilians in Gaza, Athens’ unconditional support for Tel Aviv began to reveal that this rapprochement was entirely a strategic choice against Türkiye.
Energy and maritime jurisdiction in the Eastern Mediterranean
Tensions over energy and maritime jurisdiction in the Eastern Mediterranean, and in particular the EASTMED project spearheaded by the US, Egypt, the Republic of Cyprus, Greece, and Israel, which disregards Türkiye, have been rendered unworkable by Türkiye’s actions, primarily in Libya, leading to a rapprochement between Greece and Israel.
Türkiye’s success in signing this agreement deepened the bloc formed between Israel, Greece, and the Greek Cypriot Administration of Southern Cyprus, and Athens and Tel Aviv began to develop joint countermeasures against the maritime jurisdiction agreement signed by Ankara with Libya in 2019.
The two countries and the Greek Cypriot Administration of Southern Cyprus first began signing agreements for new LNG terminals and infrastructure projects to transport Israeli gas to Europe via Crete.
On the diplomatic front, Greece, together with Israel, has been trying to coordinate lobbying efforts in Brussels and Washington to weaken Türkiye’s claims in the Eastern Mediterranean, and continues to take such steps.
Support for Israel in the European Union and the International Criminal Court
Within EU mechanisms and in Brussels, Greece has played a leading role in the bloc that has blocked sanctions against Israel despite the civilian massacres in Gaza.
The Athens administration targets Türkiye’s pro-Palestinian policies on EU platforms with the rhetoric of “Islamic radicalism,” thereby attempting to provide Israel with a diplomatic shield while also attempting to marginalize Ankara’s regional discourse in Western public opinion.
A similar picture emerges at the International Criminal Court.
When evidence of war crimes by Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu and Israeli Defense Minister Gallant came to the fore, Athens took a silent but effective position in line with Washington and Tel Aviv.
In an environment where Israel’s destruction of Gaza is being attempted to be concealed under the rhetoric of “legitimate defense,” Greece is also creating a veiled barrier to Israel being tried before international law and continues to block decisions against Israel in institutions such as the EU Foreign Affairs Council or to abstain from such decisions.
Greece also became one of four EU members that refused to join a statement condemning the famine conditions in the Gaza Strip, which was jointly issued by 22 EU countries.
Economic and military cooperation
Economic and military cooperation between the two countries has also accelerated at an extraordinary pace.
Greece seeks to use Israel’s high technology, defense industry, artificial intelligence, and energy capacity for its own strategic goals, while Israel is acting on a strategy of positioning Athens as an economic gateway to Europe.
Elbit Systems, one of Israel’s leading defense industry manufacturers, recently undertook a military air training center project in Greece, and during this period, the sale of Israel’s Heron and Hermes unmanned aerial vehicles to Greece was also approved.
The two countries have also begun signing military cooperation agreements, including plans for joint UAV patrols over the Eastern Mediterranean, with the Republic of Cyprus also involved.
The most critical aspect of this headline is the emergence of steps to build a security doctrine surrounding Türkiye in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Aegean, particularly after October 7, with exercises such as Blue Flag and Iniochos.
New mechanisms established between Israel’s Mossad and Greece’s EYP intelligence agencies have been transformed into a coordination network closely monitoring Türkiye’s moves in Syria, Libya, and the region’s energy fields.
Israel’s offer to Greece of the David’s Sling air defense system, one of the components of the Iron Dome, was also recorded as one of the joint steps taken against Türkiye’s air defense superiority.
Conclusion
All these developments reveal that the Greece-Israel rapprochement is not merely an expression of solidarity regarding the genocide war in Gaza.
The growing cooperation between the two countries is deepening as part of a long-term strategic plan aimed at limiting Türkiye’s regional influence, with Athens seeking to advance common interests by providing Israel with diplomatic protection on the global stage while also supplying energy and military bases.
It appears that Greece’s years of anti-Türkiye actions in the European Union and NATO platforms are now aligned with Israel’s interests due to Türkiye’s strong and independent stance on the Palestinian issue.
In light of all these developments, Türkiye must invest more in the coming period not only in military deterrence on the ground but also in energy diplomacy, defense technologies, and multidimensional regional alliances.
This is because the Israel-Greece axis appears to be attempting to transform these plans into a multi-layered pressure mechanism with the support of the Republic of Cyprus, France, and the United States.