At the fifth Israel-Greece-Cyprus Summit in Beersheva on Thursday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu emphasized the alliance between these countries, especially its entrepreneurial spirit.
He was joined by Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras and Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades.
“We have been meeting regularly since our first summit in 2016,” said Netanyahu. “And as I said, our personal friendships grow stronger as our agreements grow longer and longer and detailed. And these bonds are not merely based on shared interests and geographic proximity; they are based on shared values in a very volatile region, very violent region.”
“We share deep histories and rich culture. We are all vibrant democracies. We all value pluralism, freedom and peace,” he continued. “And we are all threatened by forces of terror and religious radicalism. Our alliance is an anchor of stability and prosperity in the Eastern Mediterranean.”
Also in attendance was U.S. Ambassador to Israel David Friedman.
“Our summit today reflects the U.S. support for our partnership, for our projects and for our values, which the U.S. shares,” said Netanyahu. “Today, we reaffirmed our commitment for the East-Med pipeline, discussed important aspects of the project, and we’re going to sign formally, officially this agreement in a few months.”
Additionally, the prime minister mentioned the terror tunnels dug by Hezbollah between the Lebanese-Israeli border to infiltrate into the Jewish state.
On Wednesday, Israel Ambassador to the U.N. Danny Danon warned the U.N. Security Council about the threat from the terrorist group, which Israel has responded to by launching “Operation Northern Shield” earlier this month.
“These tunnels were built by Hezbollah with direct support and funding from Iran,” said Netanyahu. “This is the Iranian web of aggression in the Middle East, which also terrorizes Europe and the entire world.”
“Israel continues its operation against the Hamas terror tunnels, and will do so until its completion,” he continued. “As we speak, we’re employing means to neutralize these tunnels, and we’ll continue to act in Syria to prevent Iran’s effort to militarily entrench itself against us. We are not going to reduce our efforts; we’re going to increase our efforts.”
Finally, Netanyahu said: “We have a unique partnership, a program, internship program for young entrepreneurs from Greece and Cyprus to intern at Israeli hi-tech companies. And I hope to see many more young and not-so-young entrepreneurs from both of your countries in Israel in the coming years.”