Netanyahu holds trilateral meeting with Greek, Cypriot counterparts

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu meets with his Greek and Cypriot counterparts in Jerusalem, wrapping up a trilateral summit between the leaders, according to the Prime Minister’s Office. The leaders are expected to deliver a declaration to the press after the meeting.

Ahead of the trilateral meeting, Netanyahu met separately with Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and with Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides, first privately and then in expanded meetings with officials from both sides, the PMO adds.

Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar held diplomatic meetings with Greek Foreign Minister Giorgos Gerapetritis and Cypriot Foreign Minister Constantinos Kombos before the meetings chaired by Netanyahu, Sa’ar’s office says in a statement, adding that the ministers will also hold a trilateral meeting this evening.

President Isaac Herzog met today with Christodoulides at the President’s Residence, writing on X that they “discussed how to deepen our cooperation, including through the trilateral alliance between Israel, Cyprus, and Greece, and the importance of the Israel-Egypt gas export deal” that Netanyahu announced last week.

Herzog and Mitsotakis visited the house of Greek citizen Jonas Chrosis, a 26-year-old architecture student who was murdered by terrorists in an attack in Jaffa late last year, along with six other victims. Hamas later claimed responsibility for the murders.

“Ionas’s assassination was a tragic event which reminds us of the necessity to fight terrorism in all its forms,” Mitsotakis says in a statement from Herzog’s office.

Earlier today, a diplomatic official told The Times of Israel that the trilateral declaration expected this evening will show that the relationship between the eastern Mediterranean allies is “moving to a new stage,” and will deal with “energy, security, and most of the economic sectors you can imagine, from tourism to agriculture.”

The official added that no announcement was expected on the creation of a joint rapid-response military force in the eastern Mediterranean, following reports that the countries were exploring such a move, given growing concern in Athens over Turkey’s expanding military posture.