Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met with his Greek counterpart, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, on Sunday evening in Jerusalem.
"We're two ancient peoples. Our free civilizations started in Athens and Jerusalem," the Israeli leader said. "They have common values, and we share a common interest today, as well as common challenges. I think that we face many opportunities, and I look forward to discussing them with you."
The prime minister also mentioned the number of Israelis that are vacationing and investing in Greece, which he described as a "vote of confidence."
"I look forward to having this opportunity to discuss the security challenges, the economic opportunities and the ways that we can increase the chances for a lasting peace in our region, something that I know that you want," he told Mitsotakis, to which the Greek prime minister responded by mentioning initiatives that require Israeli-Greek collaboration, such as security challenges, as well as cooperation on defense and economics.
Meeting with the Israeli President
Mitsotakis also met with Israeli President Isaac Herzog at the President’s Residence in the Israeli capital. In attendance at the meeting were Dimitrios and Urania Karussis, whose son Ionas “Yona” Karussis, an architecture student, was murdered by Palestinian terrorists last October in Jaffa. The Karussis couple, who work as medical experts, migrated from Thessaloniki in 1988. They had already met with the Greek prime minister once before in Athens.
"Thank you for being supportive and being with us in this incredible partnership between Greece and Israel, which is embodied also in another tragedy of the Karussis family," Herzog told Mitsotakis, referencing Ionas. "A beautiful boy. Their lives have been intertwined between Israel and Greece for decades already, and I want to thank you for speaking and meeting his parents. We are very moved that both of you are here, hoping that his memory will be a blessing for all of us, and hoping that terror will never reign in this region."
The Greek prime minister expressed his condolences to the Karussis family "on behalf of all the Greek people." Ionas, 26, held both Greek and Israeli citizenship, spoke both Hebrew and Greek fluently, and served in the IDF. A scholarship program will be launched in the memory of their son which would bring students to study in Israel, Mitsotakis told Herzog.
Mitsotakis adds to demand for hostages' release
Herzog then went on to reference the hostages in the meeting, saying "dozens and dozens of Israelis and non-Israelis who are there in the dungeons of Gaza, alive and dead, are victims of barbaric treatment. We are getting very disturbing reports about their medical situations, and of course, Hamas’s cruel behavior has been tormenting families and the entire nation."
"You know how much value we place in the strategic partnership between Greece and Israel. I come to Israel once more in very difficult and turbulent times," Mitsotakis told the president, while he also added to the call for the "immediate and unconditional release" of the remaining 59 hostages still held in the Gaza Strip. "But let me also add my voice to those who express a sincere hope that as quickly as possible there will be a new ceasefire in Gaza, and finally a framework that will allow us all to think about the day after.”
Yuval Barnea contributed to this report.
