BY HASAN KANBOLAT
TODAY'S ZAMAN- Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's recent official visit to Greece was not an ordinary visit in terms of the geopolitics of the eastern Mediterranean. The problems Israel has faced in its alliance with Turkey have pushed it to search for other strategic partners in the region. This compels us to contemplate whether there will be a change in eastern Mediterranean geopolitics in the next decade.
Greece has been involved in Middle East politics since the Hellenistic period. In Middle East politics it has had a predominantly Arab-focused position. Full diplomatic relations between Israel and Greece started in 1993. But Turkey became the first Muslim country to recognize Israel in 1949, a year after the country was founded. After relations between Turkey and Israel became strained recently, Greece grew more interested in assuming a bigger role in Middle East politics. It is for this reason that it is even willing to change its traditional pro-Arab Middle East policy to a pro-Israeli one. During a visit to Israel in July, Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou spoke to the Israeli press about direct talks between the Israelis and Palestinians. He said Greece would not insist on participating in the process directly, but would facilitate it, adding that direct talks would benefit both Greece and the Middle East.
If a new power center that includes Greece, southern Cyprus and Israel emerges in the eastern Mediterranean, it may be more of a cause of concern for the Arab world and Greece than for Turkey. Even though Israel, which is trying to establish good relations with Greece, has disturbed Turkey with respect to some sensitive issues, developing relations with Greece could damage Greece's traditionally friendly relations with Arab countries. Papandreou is aware of this situation and spoke by phone with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, informing them about Netanyahu's visit to Athens before meeting with him. But this measure will not be enough for long-term Israeli-Greek rapprochement.
Furthermore, Israeli-Greek rapprochement has started to have ripple effects in Greek domestic policy. Leftist groups and unions in Greece are against building close relations with Israel. Due to biases regarding the US, the Greek public is skeptical about Israel, as well. Protests were staged during Netanyahu's visit. The Palestinian flag was raised in the Acropolis.
Papandreou announced that a joint committee will be set up to promote cooperation in areas like investment, tourism, energy, communication, information, water technology (desalination), advanced technology, innovation, renewable energy sources, new agricultural technologies and defense. Israel is also interested in using Greek air space for Israeli military exercises.
The two countries organized a joint military exercise dubbed "Noble Spartan" in 2008 and Israeli pilots were allowed to practice their flying in Greek air space. Another Greek-Israeli military exercise started toward the end of May this year. But after Israel attacked the aid flotilla heading to Gaza in which two Greek ships were involved, Greece immediately canceled the exercise.
While trade between Israel and Greece was $522 million in 2008, it dropped to $496 million in 2009. Trade between the two countries includes chemicals, plastics and basic metals. During Papandreou's visit, the leaders of both countries pledged tighter cooperation in energy, tourism and agriculture.
Greece has used the tension between Israel and Turkey to its advantage in tourism. Israeli tourists are now exploring Greece instead of going to Turkey. Between January and June this year, 230,000 Israeli citizens visited Greece. Turkey used to be the second most popular country for Israeli tourists, but now it ranks ninth while Greece has moved up to eighth. There was a 40 percent increase in the number of Israeli tourists to Greece in June 2010 and a 44 percent decrease in the number of Israeli tourists to Turkey. Among the places preferred by Israeli tourists are Athens, Rhodes, Crete, Corfu, Zakinthos, Kos and Thessaloniki.
Will Greece be able to assume a new role in Middle East geopolitics based on the traditional model of Turkey's relations with Israel and the Arab world? Will Greece's rapprochement with Israel upset Arabs? Will it cause a rattle in Greece's domestic policy? Will Athens get what it expects from Israel? Or will a new power center that includes Greece, southern Cyprus and Israel emerge in the eastern Mediterranean? Time will tell.