Greece and Israel have extensive diplomatic, military, intelligence and economic relations and are considered allies. Both countries are part of the proposed Energy Triangle to deliver oil and gas extracted from Israel and Cyprus to mainland Europe with a pipeline through Greece. The deterioration of Israel's relations with Turkey following the 2010 Gaza flotilla raid and during the Gaza genocide and war has contributed to the strengthening of Greek-Israeli relations. Both countries are partners in the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), and members of the Union for the Mediterranean, the World Trade Organization (WTO) and other international organizations. Israel is the second largest importer of Greek products in the Middle East.
While a mid-2024 poll found that 61% of Greeks considered Israel an ally of Greece, two 2026 polls reported that 65% or more of Greeks viewed Israel negatively, amid global backlash during the Gaza genocide and war.
History
1940s
Along with Cuba, Greece was one of only two Christian-majority nations to vote against the United Nations Partition Plan for Palestine. This was mainly in order not to damage Greek-Arab economic ties, and to avert a threat to expel the Egyptian Greek community (which would eventually happen after Nasser's coming to power).: "These developments concerned all local foreign minorities, and after 1956 the large majority of Greeks, Italians, Belgians, French, and British did, indeed, leave the country as well. Non-Muslim and non-Arab minorities had smaller chances to integrate into the Egyptian nation once it came to be increasingly defined on Arab and Islamic lines."
Following the signing of armistice agreements confirming Israel's survival in the aftermath of the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, Greece de facto recognized the State of Israel on 15 March 1949, and it was diplomatically represented in Tel Aviv on a lower-than-embassy level.
1960–70s Relations between Israel and Greece slightly improved during the Greek junta which ruled from 1967 to 1974. The junta praised the "martial aspects of the Israeli state" and assisted the United States in supporting Israel during the Six-Day War. Greece also sent a consul to Jerusalem during this period, but refrained from granting full recognition to balance its relations with the Arab states.
1980–90s
Particularly under Prime Minister Andreas Papandreou's terms in 1981–89 and 1993–96, tensions existed between Greece and Israel due to Greece's traditional support of the Palestinians."Greece and the Middle East" Spiros Ch. Kaminaris, Middle East Review of International Affairs, volume 3, number 2 (June 1999), In 1982, the Greek government coordinated with Yasser Arafat, leader of the Palestine Liberation Organization, to allow his evacuation from Tripoli, Lebanon to Athens by Greek ships when Israel invaded Lebanon. Israeli military cooperation with Turkey and controversies over the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate in Jerusalem also dampened relations.
In the 1990s, efforts were made to improve ties between the two countries. Greece formally recognized Israel in 1990 under Prime Minister Konstantinos Mitsotakis and their first defense cooperation agreement was signed in 1994, although it was never implemented. Bilateral trade doubled between 1989 and 1995. That year Israel, exported $200 million worth of chemicals and oil products to Greece and imported $150 million worth of cement, food, and building materials.
2000–2010s
Relations between Greece and Israel further grew due to the decline of Israeli-Turkish relations under the AK Party of Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, in power in Turkey since 2002, especially in the aftermath of the Gaza flotilla raid in May 2010. Greece's desire to increase its deterrent power against Turkey and the improvement in U.S.-Greece relations were also factors.An Outline of Greek-Israeli Strategic Relations, John M. Nomikos, Research Institute for European and American Studies.
In 2006, President Moshe Katsav visited Greece, in what was the first official visit by an Israeli head of state. In July 2010, Greek Prime minister George Papandreou (son of Andreas Papandreou) made an official visit to Israel.PM Netanyahu welcomes Greek PM Papandreou, Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 22 Jul 2010
In August 2010, Prime Minister of Israel Benjamin Netanyahu became the first Israeli Prime Minister to visit Greece. On his two-day tour, Netanyahu and Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou discussed greater cooperation between the nations' militaries, defense industries and economies.
In January 2011 Foreign Minister of Israel Avigdor Liberman made a state visit to Athens. During that visit, the two countries reportedly set up a joint committee to study ways of improving cooperation on strategic and anti-terror issues.
In June 2017 Prime Minister Netanyahu paid an official visit to Thessaloniki, meeting with members of the city's ancient Jewish community and visiting the historic Monastir synagogue.
2020s
On January 2, 2020, the Prime Ministers of Greece, Cyprus and Israel signed the EastMed pipeline deal in Athens.
In May 2021, an agreement was reached after a government-to-government negotiation for the establishment of the International Flight Training Center within the Kalamata Air Base premises in Kalamata, Greece. The €1.375 billion deal includes a 22-year public-private partnership with Israeli military company Elbit Systems to modernize Greece’s pilot training capabilities.
The Greek state surveillance scandal, first revealed in 2022, in which the Mitsotakis government deployed Predator spyware against political targets, led to scrutiny of the spyware's link to former Israeli intelligence figures and the role of Israel in exporting private spyware to foreign governments.
Relations between Greece and Israel continued to strengthen, with Greece abstaining to vote on the October 2023 UN General Assembly resolution for a humanitarian truce and aid access during the Gaza war and a visit to Tel Aviv by Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis later that month.
In April-May 2026, Greece allowed the release in Crete of around 175 Global Sumud Flotilla members who had been detained by Israeli forces in international waters in the Greek search and rescue zone, while en route to deliver humanitarian aid to Gaza.
Military collaboration
In October 2010, the Israeli and Greek air forces trained jointly in Greece. According to the BBC, this signified a boost in ties that was due in large part to Israel's rift with Turkey.Israel woos Greece after rift with Turkey BBC, 16 October 2010
Israeli President Shimon Peres thanked Greece for its role in thwarting the planned second Gaza flotilla in 2011.Peres Thanks Greece for Thwarting Gaza-bound Flotilla"Israel's new friend: Why Greece is thwarting Gaza flotilla" by Joshua Mitnick, Christian Science Monitor, July 5, 2011"Analysis: Alliance shifts behind Greece Gaza stand", Associated Press, July 7, 2011
In November 2011, the Israeli Air Force hosted Greece's Hellenic Air Force in a joint exercise at the Uvda base. Greece sent five F-16 block 52 fighter jets for a five-day exercise, which included practice air fights as well as ground attacks. Israeli F-15 and F-16 fighter jets also participated in the exercise, along with Boeing fuel supplier airplanes. Similar training was held in 2012 by the IAF in cooperation with the Hellenic Air Force in the Peloponnese and parts of southern Greece in response to the need of the IAF to train pilots in unfamiliar areas.
On March 14, 2013, the navies of Israel, Greece and the US held a two-week joint military exercise for the third year in a row. The annual operation is nicknamed Noble Dina and was established in 2011. Similar to Noble Dina in 2012, the exercise in 2013 included defending offshore natural gas platforms and simulated air-to-air combat and anti-submarine warfare.
Also, on March 27, 2017, Israel participated in the large-scale Iniohos military exercise, which is organized annually by Greece, along with the USA, Italy and the United Arab Emirates. It also joined the exercise in 2019.
Blue Flag exercise
In November 2013, Israel hosted a "massive" aerial-maneuver drill, code-named "Blue Flag," at the Ovda air base, near the southern city of Eilat, in the Negev Desert, modeled after the US Air Force's annual Red Flag exercise. The exercise included seven combat squadrons from the Israeli Air Force and one squadron each from the air forces of Greece, the United States, and Italy. Half of Israel's air space had been closed to traffic for the exercise, from approximately the center of the country southwards. Pilots practised attacks on enemy bases and tactics for defeating anti-aircraft measures, such as shoulder-held missiles, advanced surface-to-air missiles, and radar systems. Observers to the drill included military attachés and political representatives from Cyprus and Bulgaria.
Opening of military attaché office in Athens In April 2014 the IDF and the Ministry of Defense of Israel announced the closure of their military attaché office in Switzerland during the summer of 2014. It was decided to open a new military attaché office in Greece due to the growing military cooperation between the two countries and as a counterweight to the decline of defense relations with Turkey. Until April 2014 the military attaché in Italy was also responsible for transactions and security relations in Greece, but after the announcement of the decision Athens will host a permanent military attaché who will address security relations between Greece and Israel directly.
Status of forces agreement Greece is one of only three countries Israel has signed a status of forces agreement (SOFA), with the other being the United States and Cyprus. The agreement enables Israel in hosting Greek military forces in its territory or stationing Israeli military forces in the territory of Greece, as part of the military agreements and comprehensive security arrangements between the two countries.
Cooperation on anti-drone systems and cybersecurity In January 2026, Greece and Israel agreed to deepen their defence cooperation with a focus on counter-unmanned systems and cybersecurity. Greek Defence Minister Nikos Dendias and Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz announced that the two countries would exchange technical expertise and collaborate on systems to counter swarms of unmanned aerial and underwater drones, and strengthen readiness against cyber threats following talks in Athens. The initiative builds on existing military ties, including joint exercises and the operation of an air training centre in Greece, and is part of broader efforts to enhance bilateral defence collaboration amid evolving security challenges in the Eastern Mediterranean.
In July of the same year, Greece approved a €3.5 billion agreement to acquire a new multi-layered air defence system based on Israeli defence technology. The "Achilles Shield" system is expected to include Israeli-made radar and missile systems developed by Rafael Advanced Defense Systems and Israel Aerospace Industries, and further capabilities like counter-drone technology.