At a meeting with Greek Defense Minister Nikos Dendias on Tuesday and in the shadow of ongoing potential conflicts between Israel and either Iran or Turkey, Defense Minister Israel Katz warned other countries in the region to give up their dreams of restoring or establishing an empire in the region.
Although he did not name Iran or Turkey specifically, Katz made strong implicit references to both.
He noted that Jerusalem is on high alert for a variety of imminent threat scenarios, a clear reference to the stand-off with Iran.
At the same time, he cautioned against any nation state actors who might “want to undermine the stability of the region, to establish a foothold by means of terror, aggression or military proxies – in Syria, Gaza, or the Aegean Sea, or in any other arena,” a reference to Turkey’s inroads into those regions, and likely partially also Iran in Gaza.
In addition to those broad strokes, the defense ministers and other senior defense officials made progress on joint intelligence, drills, and even operations.
Israel, Greece, and Cyprus consider joint rapid-response force
On December 18, senior officials from Israel, Greece, and Cyprus discussed the possibility of establishing a rapid-response force composed of units from the armed forces of the three countries, three people familiar with the matter told The Jerusalem Post.
The initiative is part of a broader effort to deter Turkey’s military and strategic activities in the Eastern Mediterranean, they said.
According to the sources at the time, the security initiative is currently in the preliminary review and planning stages.
It is intended to strengthen strategic military cooperation among the three countries amid rising regional tensions. The force would not be a permanent standing unit but one that could be deployed quickly in times of crisis on land, at sea, or in the air.
There is significant involvement from the IAF, the IDF Foreign Relations Department, and the Israel Navy, coordinated through inter-service and government channels, an informed source told the Post.
Following that meeting, on December 22, Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides visited Israel for a summit with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
In November, the Prime Minister’s Office said Military Secretary Major-General Roman Gofman and Acting National Security Council Adviser Gil Reich held “meetings on political and regional issues with their Greek counterparts” in Greece.
IAF Commander Maj.-Gen. Tomer Bar reportedly met with senior air force officials from Cyprus and Greece in a strategic session to strengthen cooperation.
KATZ ALSO met with his Cypriot counterpart in Israel in December.
The concept they discussed in December, and likely again on Tuesday, envisions a unit of about 2,500 personnel, some 1,000 soldiers each from Greece and Israel, and 500 from Cyprus, Greek news site Tanea reported.
Discussions on the proposal are ongoing, two sources told the Post.
The establishment of such a force, and even discussions about its establishment, is intended to send a message to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
“If you take this and you add it to the deepened military cooperation of the last 15 years, to me this could be a natural extension of this cooperation,” Angelos Athanasopoulos, a Greek geopolitics and security expert, told the Post. “And the main country from which it will receive a backlash will be Turkey. Following recent comments in both the Greek and Israeli press, this really raises some eyebrows in Turkey.”
Ankara is seeking to turn Syria into a Turkish satellite state, including the deployment of air-defense systems aimed at aircraft and missiles in Syrian territory.
At the same time, Turkey has been given a seat on the US’s Board of Peace for Gaza, is pursuing involvement in the multinational force in the Gaza Strip, and is holding talks with both rival governments in Libya in an attempt to negotiate a new maritime agreement.
Such a move could allow it to become a dominant player in the maritime space of the Northern and Eastern Mediterranean.
In recent years, Israel has conducted several exercises with the navies and air forces of Greece and Cyprus, including trilateral drills. According to reports in Greece, the Israeli Spike NLOS missile system, known as the “Long Lance,” is transitioning in the Hellenic Army from procurement to operational integration.
Publications indicate the goal is to achieve full operational capability by next summer, with a focus on deployment around the eastern Aegean islands and the Evros River region.
The reports say this is not just about acquiring long-range missiles but about embedding a full networked system of sensors, command, and control, giving smaller units a significant and accurate fire capability.
“If there is a force, a standing force probably, I think we will see more trilateral exercises of this kind,” Athanasopoulos said. “And who knows if other countries will also participate. So, indeed, a new course creates a denser network of synergies.”
Amichai Stein contributed to this report.