He expressed his horror and sorrow at Hamas’ terrorist attacks against Israel and said “We hope that whatever happens, it is done without great humanitarian cost. But in any case, you can count on our support, our help.”
Benjamin Netanyahu reportedly responded “Thank you, my friend. Thank you.”
Mitsotakis reiterated Greece’s position and “Israel’s right to self-defense in accordance with international law” and “the need to protect civilians, free the Israelis held hostage by Hamas and avoid a humanitarian crisis.”
The dialogue between Mitsotakis and Netanyahu at the start of the meeting was reportedly as follows:
Benjamin Netanyahu: Prime Minister, my dear friend Kyriakos, I am very glad to see you here. I always say that the best thing besides standing with Israel, is being in Israel. I appreciate your solidarity, that of your government and the Greek people, in this dark hour. It is a battle of civilization against barbarism. We are on the side of civilization and we must all unite against Hamas, which is the Islamic State (ISIS).
Kyriakos Mitsotakis: Thank you very much, Prime Minister, dear Bibi. I come here not only as an ally, but as a true friend. What happened was truly horrific. From the first moment, Greece defended and supported Israel’s right to self-defense, according to International Law. We made a very clear distinction between Hamas and the Palestinian people. We will continue to support you and hope that whatever happens must happen without great humanitarian cost. You can count on our support, our help.
Benjamin Netanyahu: Thank you, my friend. Thank you.
During his visit in Jesuralem, Mitsotakis met also with two families of Israelis being held hostages.
He is scheduled to return to Athens on Monday afternoon.
Mitsotakis had originally planned to visit Israel last Thursday but the visit had been postponed due to “security concerns.”
PS I have no idea what the Greek PM meant saying “without great humanitarian cost” and how his humanitarian-meter functions.
Much to official data, there have been since October 7:
4,651 dead Palestinians, 14,245 injured. Of the casualties, 40% are children…