Netanyahu hosts Greek and Cypriot leaders in Jerusalem to advance energy links and security coordination in eastern Mediterranean

Israel is locking in reliable partners on its western maritime flank while turning shared security needs into projects that reshape the map.

By Shmuli Volkin, Jewish Breaking News

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held a trilateral summit in Jerusalem with Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides, signaling a push to move the Israel–Greece–Cyprus partnership from routine coordination to big, region-shaping projects.

In Netanyahu’s remarks, he framed this as the “tenth meeting” but potentially the most consequential, arguing the Eastern Mediterranean is being stress-tested by “aggression, terrorism, and instability” and that the trilateral bloc is meant to project steadiness and deterrence while unlocking prosperity.

Leaders highlighted plans to advance an undersea electricity interconnector tying their grids toward Europe and also linking south and east, while pairing that with a broader connectivity vision that would move goods and energy between India and Europe through the Middle East via sea and rail routes.

That mix matters because it turns diplomacy into hard assets. A power cable, energy corridors, and upgraded ports and logistics are not just economic.

They create shared dependencies, raise the cost of escalation for hostile actors, and give Israel and its partners more resilience if the region faces another shock.

Security was the second pillar. The three leaders agreed to deepen security cooperation, and Netanyahu said he intends to raise Iran’s nuclear file and regional threats in his upcoming talks with U.S. President Donald Trump, alongside the next phase of the Gaza plan.

Greece’s and Cyprus’s public messaging emphasized stability-first cooperation among democracies, while Netanyahu stressed Israel is not looking for confrontation, but will act to protect itself and the region’s sea lanes.

There was also a pointed warning shot embedded in the optics. Netanyahu took aim at unnamed would-be regional dominators, saying: “Don’t even think about it.”

In parallel, reporting ahead of the summit suggested discussion around a potential rapid-response framework to protect shared interests in the Eastern Mediterranean, though officials indicated nothing was yet ready for formal announcement.

One human thread is hovering over everything. Netanyahu again referenced the demand for Hamas to return the remains of Ran “Rani” Gvili, widely reported as the last Israeli hostage whose body is still held in Gaza, underscoring that Israel views closure on the hostage file as part of the broader regional reset.

The takeaway from Jerusalem is simple: Israel is locking in reliable partners on its western maritime flank while turning shared security needs into projects that reshape the map.

If the plans move from speeches to signed timelines, the Eastern Mediterranean axis becomes less a forum and more a functioning strategic corridor.