 | |
 Greece |  Palestine |
|---|---|
Greece–Palestine relations are bilateral relations between theHellenic Republic and theState of Palestine. Due to the historical ties between the two countries, Greece and Palestine today enjoy excellent diplomatic relations.[1][2] Palestine has arepresentative office inAthens and Greece's consulate general inJerusalem is accredited to Palestine. The two countries are members of theEast Mediterranean Gas Forum.
During the '60s–'90s (peaking during the '70s), Palestinian organisations carried out a wave ofterrorist attacks in Greece. In 1981 Greece established diplomatic relations with thePLO, but maintained relations withIsrael at only the consular level until Greece's formal recognition of Israel in 1990 underMitsotakis.[3] Since the formation of current foreign policy underGeorge Papandreou and especially under Prime MinisterKyriakos Mitsotakis, Greece has seen a rapid improvement in relations with Israel,[4] following the deterioration ofIsrael's relations with Turkey caused by the2010 Gaza flotilla raid.[5] During the2024 Jaffa shooting,Hamas gunmen killed several people including a Greek citizen.[6] The Greek Foreign Ministry condemned the attack.[7]
In 2001, there were 4,000 Palestinians residing in Greece.[8]
Greece has not fully formalized its relations with Palestine due to many geopolitical disputes, despite the pledges of then-Prime MinisterAlexis Tsipras who is a member of the left-wingSyriza Party known for its support for the Palestinian cause, to make such changes.[citation needed]
In December 2015, theHellenic parliament voted unanimously in the presence of PresidentMahmoud Abbas to recommend to the government the full recognition of the state of Palestine on 4 June 1967 borders withEast Jerusalem as its capital.[9][10]
PresidentKarolos Papoulias has stated that Greece ultimately supports the creation of a Palestinian state alongside Israel.[11] Under previous governments, Greece garnered a reputation as a staunch supporter of the Palestinian cause.[12] Within the wider Arab–Israeli conflict,Andreas Papandreou maintained a stronger stand against Israel than any other government in the European Community.[13]
On 15 May 2023, 41municipalities in Greece raised thePalestinian flag on their buildings in solidarity with the Palestinian people marking the 75th anniversary of theNakba.[14] Two years later in May 2025, 33 municipalities raised the Palestinian flag to commemorate the 77th anniversary of the Nakba.[15]
|  | |||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
| Africa |  | |
|---|---|---|
| Americas | ||
| Asia | ||
| Europe | ||
| Oceania | ||
| Former states | ||
| Disputes | ||
| Multilateral relations | ||
| Related topics | ||
