Greece and Cyprus: Genocidal Wingmen

On May 18, israel illegally intercepted more than 40 of our humanitarian boats and abducted our participants from Cyprus’s search and rescue zone, where the Cypriot coast guard refused its duty to intervene and rescue them. israeli forces proceeded to assault and rape our volunteers during the passage to occupied Palestine.

Two weeks earlier, Greece allowed israel to intercept 22 of our boats off the coast of Crete before brutalizing 181 participants aboard a floating prison in Greek territorial waters. Two activists, one a European citizen, were abducted to occupied Palestine where they were abused in solitary confinement.

Following israel’s massacre of Turkish flotilla activists in 2010, Cyprus pandered to israeli interests by banning Gaza-bound vessels from its ports and waters, with Cypriot media circulating fear-mongering speculations that the flotillas were assets of the Turkish government.

Assisting in israel’s piratical attacks on our mission helps the occupation maintain its deadly siege on Gaza, which continues to impose starvation, disease, deprivation and slow death on survivors of 100,000 tons of bombs.

Unholy Trinity

Greece and Cyprus are already accomplices to grave violations of international law and partners in genocide, deeply entrenched in the economy and logistics of israeli warfare.

Departing from historical solidarity with Palestine, Greece and Cyprus signed Status of Forces Agreements with israel in 2015, strategically embedding israeli forces in both countries through joint military drills and exchanges, including the IOF’s use of Cyprus’s Troodos mountain range for terrain simulation.

The agreement, widely understood as a geopolitical maneuver to counter rising tensions with Turkey, was quietly reinforced in 2025 amidst israel’s livestreamed genocide in Gaza, with a Joint Action Plan for deepened military, surveillance and cybersecurity cooperation.

Greece and Cyprus attempted to sanitize the alliance by parroting israeli propaganda, genocide denial and outright lies:

“…We are determined to ensure that humanitarian assistance reaches civilians safely…”

 “…We reiterate Israel’s right to self-defense in accordance with international law and reject unfounded allegations against Israel…”

 “…We support the sovereignty, territorial integrity and independence of Lebanon…”

(Joint Declaration, The 10th Trilateral Summit of Israel, Greece, and Cyprus)

On April 6, Greece purchased $760 million in arms from israeli weapons firm Elbit Systems, the “backbone” of israeli warfare. Other purchases include a $165 billion joint flight training center, israeli drones, and missile systems. Greek shipping companies have been covertly transporting oil and military cargo to israel during the genocide.

Cyprus has acquired significant amounts of israeli military equipment, from an anti-aircraft defense system to guns and unmanned aerial vehicles.

Israel markets its arms exports as “battle tested” on occupied Palestinians.

The Palestine Exception, Again

Invaded as recently as 50 years ago, Cyprus still rejects Turkish occupation of its Northern Territory.

“The Cypriot political establishment has the audacity to stand before the international community and denounce the illegal Turkish occupation of Northern Cyprus, speak of the right of return for displaced Cypriots, condemn demographic engineering through settlers, and demand justice under international law—whilst simultaneously legitimizing and integrating itself with another occupation carrying out precisely the same crimes against Palestinians.”

—Elina Xenophontos, International Law and Economic Globalization Specialist

Under the Ottoman Empire, a million Greek Christians were systemically exterminated. During WWII, Greece suffered under the occupation of Axis Powers and still celebrates its resistance fighters. The Western-looking move towards normalization with israel is a grotesque affront to the histories of occupation and genocide these countries claim to lament. In reality, in both cases, trauma has simply become a tool of center-right Greek nationalism, Xenophontos argues.

Furthermore, the Greek Church is gradually abandoning Greek Christians in Palestine to erasure, selling off and leasing church-stewarded land to israeli settlers. Arabic-speaking Greek Christians have lived in Palestine for generations, and have similarly suffered under israeli occupation and ethnic cleansing as their Muslim neighbors. Since 1948, the Christian population has been eroded to just 1-2% of the total Palestinian population compared to 10-20% pre-Nakba.

What eroded historic Greek and Cypriot solidarity with Palestine?

The majority of Greek and Cypriot people firmly oppose israel’s genocide and government cooperation with the occupation, and reject foreign israeli investment heralding in Zionist settlement through unchecked land purchases. Yet their governments have placed profit and the illusion of power above humanity.

Display of Force: Triggered by the discovery of offshore gas fields off the coast of Cyprus, the alliance was intended to create a trilateral military axis against Turkish challenges to disputed maritime zones in the Levant, Aegean and Eastern Mediterranean. The reality is that the alliance has only escalated tensions with Turkey as the Trump administration has moved closer to Anakara, exposing what fragile security it offers.

Fossil Fuels: Cyprus and Greece are central to the proposed EastMed pipeline, a plan meant to integrate israel into Europe’s energy infrastructure by transporting 9-12 billion cubic meters of stolen gas from Palestine’s sovereign waters to Europe.

Energy Security: The Great Sea Interconnector project plans to connect the electricity grids of Greece, Cyprus and israel via the world’s longest and deepest undersea power cable, integrating israel and Cyprus into the European energy market.

Economic Gain: The GSI would incorporate these three countries into the US-led India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC), which aims to counter to Chinese influence.

Greek and Cypriot civil society must rise.

Greece and Cyprus are partners in israeli crimes against humanity, playing an active role in the normalization of israeli occupation, ongoing genocide against Palestinians, and regional terror. According to provisional ICJ orders of January 2024, the countries’ ongoing military, diplomatic, and economic collaboration with the occupying entity clearly positions them in violation of the Geneva Conventions.

Embedding, protecting and facilitating israeli violence in Greek and Cypriot territory violates the rights and sovereignty of Greek and Cypriot citizens and land, and sets the stage for further, and greater, violence in the Southern Mediterranean.

Where does israel’s occupation end?