After a meeting of high-ranking officers of the Greek army, new orders were given to increase security measures to protect army staff and installations.
Breaking – The Greek army is on heightened alert since yesterday, October 10th, after receiving instructions from the Greek Army General Staff (ΓΕΣ) in response to the current Israel-Palestine conflict. This coincides with the port of Souda in Crete preparing itself to support a U.S. aircraft carrier, while the Frigate “Psara” is also on heightened alert as it is deployed alongside Standing NATO Maritime Group 2. Greece, an ally of Israel, has significantly strengthened its ties with the country over the past decade.
Insider sources in the Greek Army say that the General Staff is worried about (illegal) Muslim immigrants, especially in the regions of Attica, Thrace, and the Dodecanese. Greece’s relationship with Israel and potential involvement in the conflict might provoke attacks or acts of subterfuge by supporters of Palestine on military staff and installations. I am not able to independently confirm these claims.
Heightened security measures include: Bulletproof vests, stricter sentries, new patrols, as well as police patrols for larger installations. Whether these will all be applied will depend on staff and base administrations.
The political scene and Palestine.
Greek-Israeli relations have improved decidedly in the last 10 years as Israel turned away from its former ally Turkiye. It is questionable whether it could return to the pro-Palestine stance it had under leaders like A. Papandreou. This is especially true since a number of Muslim countries have normalized relations with Israel. Such a move from a New Democracy government would be highly unexpected. An attack by pro-Palestine actors would harden such stances.
A wildcard in the political scene is the new, untested president of SYRIZA, the main opposition party, Stefanos Kasselakis. He recently stated his personal opinions on the conflict, supporting a two-state solution:
S. Kasselakis, Statement 2023.
In this context, concerted international efforts must be made for a ceasefire in order to restart talks for a peaceful two-state solution based on the 1967 borders with East Jerusalem as the capital of the Palestinian state.
It is still uncertain whether Greece will involve itself further, as its government needs to carefully consider the policies of surrounding nations as well as those of the US and the EU.
Andrej Markov 