Speaking at the conclusion of the summit with Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides, Netanyahu said: "To those who think they can rebuild their empires, I say forget it. It won't happen."

The Greek newspaper Liberal wrote that Ankara is concerned by the fact that the Greece–Cyprus–Israel partnership directly challenges Turkey's strategy in the eastern Mediterranean. "This is a form of cooperation, a network if you will, that will limit Turkey's unilateral actions in the region," the paper said. "Netanyahu's message to Turkey says it all. The balance of power in the Mediterranean has not been overturned, but it has been reshaped."

Another Greek outlet, Fema, wrote on Tuesday that Netanyahu's message to Erdogan may please Greece, but was primarily intended as a response to Erdogan's repeated statements in recent years expressing a desire to "liberate Jerusalem." "We should not forget that the Ottoman Empire ruled not only Greece, but also Jerusalem," the paper noted.

In Turkey, the reaction was sharply critical. The daily Milliyet branded the summit an "axis of evil," while Hurriyet ran a headline describing it as an "anti-Turkish alliance." According to Hurriyet, "The leaders of Greece and the Greek Cypriots went to Netanyahu because what unites them is anti-Turkish sentiment. Netanyahu, for his part, is concerned about Turkey's growing influence in the eastern Mediterranean, and therefore convened the summit."

At the same time, many Greeks criticized Mitsotakis for letting Netanyahu "do the talking" rather than delivering a strong statement himself. "The two cowardly chickens from Greece and Cyprus hid behind Netanyahu's back," wrote a user named Fotis. "They should learn a thing or two from Israel about standing on the front line."

There was also at least one dissenting voice seeking to cool the enthusiasm with a dose of historical perspective. "I don't understand what everyone is so excited about," wrote a user named Anthony. "After all, the Jews hate the Greeks. Even now they are celebrating an eight-day holiday marking their supposed victory over the Greeks."

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"They hurt my son at the hotel entrance in Cyprus – and everyone disappeared," the young man's father wrote on social media. "My son, a young Israeli, was violently attacked at the entrance of the hotel where he was staying in Cyprus. Not on the street. Not in a bar. At the hotel entrance – a place that's supposed to be safe and secure.

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Cyprus has ramped up the hunt on Wednesday for the Israeli yacht that set sail from Ashdod two days ago and vanished on its way to the island. Contact was severed two days ago near Paphos.

The Greek Coast Guard announced that as the weather improves, Greek Navy planes and helicopters will join the afternoon search for the missing Israeli yacht, sweeping the waters between Cyprus and Crete. At the same time, Cypriot officials indicated that wind patterns suggest the yacht may have drifted south toward Egypt's coastline, prompting searches in that direction as well. The official noted that Wednesday's search will stretch toward Israel, suggesting the skipper may have turned back due to worsening conditions.

The missing passengers include three friends from Kafr Shibli Umm al-Ghanem in northern Israel (an Arab village in the Galilee), while the fourth person, according to the yacht company, lives in the Krayot (the cluster of towns north of Haifa).

The yacht vanished roughly 90 nautical miles (167 kilometers) off Paphos on the island's southern coast. Cyprus has triggered the Nearchos protocol, redirecting passing vessels to the yacht's projected path to aid the search. The operation involves Cypriot ships and helicopters from British military installations on the island.

Cyprus port authorities described the yacht's skipper, a 41-year-old Israeli, as highly experienced with multiple prior visits to the island. A port official told local journalists he was baffled that Israeli authorities cleared the vessel to sail in such brutal weather. "During Storm Byron, we halted nearly all departures of small craft from the island," the official said.

Israel's Foreign Ministry confirmed that "Israeli, Greek, and Cypriot forces are coordinating search operations. The ministry's Division for Israelis Abroad and embassies in Cyprus and Greece remain in constant contact with the families, working nonstop on the situation."

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Abraham, who will soon celebrate his fifth birthday, fell critically ill on October 9 and was diagnosed with the extremely rare and serious condition.

He has been hospitalized at Alder Hey Children's Hospital in Liverpool since then. Doctors told the family that the child's condition is critical and expressed concern that he might not recover with the available treatment at their facility.

"The doctors tried one treatment that didn't help, and suggested we continue with chemotherapy," the mother, Andrea, explained to philenews. However, specialized hospitals exist in Israel and the United States with a proven track record of treating the disease. In Israel, this means Sheba Medical Center.

The Cypriot people opened their hearts

Andrea's parents, both nurses, decided to launch a crowdfunding campaign to raise the funds needed to fly little Abraham to Israel and hospitalize him at Sheba Medical Center. Media outlets on the island rallied to their cause, and within several days, 180,000 euros ($198,000) were collected toward the required 300,000 euros ($330,000).

But then Andrea received a surprising phone call. "It was the warmest and most hope-filled phone call I ever received," she said. The call was from Cyprus President Nikos Christodoulidis, who informed her that the state would bear the costs of Abraham's transfer and treatment in Israel.

"There are no words to express my gratitude to the Cypriot government for this decision, and to everyone who stood by us in these difficult days," the mother wrote. "I want to say a huge thank you to every person who prayed, who donated, who shared our story, or simply sent us a word of love. Your response was amazing and gave us the strength to continue. The fundraising page we opened will be closed, and the funds collected will be used solely for Abraham's full recovery. From the bottom of my heart, thank you to all of you. Together we proved that humanity has no boundaries," Andrea wrote in a Facebook post.

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"An earthquake occurring in Greece or Cyprus will barely affect us. Even earthquakes exceeding magnitude five will still leave us almost untouched," the researcher explained. "If a 2004 Pacific Ocean earthquake devastated Indonesian coasts, killing hundreds of thousands, and a 2011 destructive earthquake struck Japan's Fukushima reactors, no comparable danger exists regionally. The Mediterranean Sea's small size prevents the development of large tsunamis. The most severe scenario brings waves reaching one meter high."

The country remains unprepared

Nevertheless, Dr. Avni delivers no reassuring message and emphasizes that Israeli citizens face exceptional exposure to earthquake damage from the Syrian-African fault. "Statistical projections indicate one earthquake per century. The prior earthquake struck in 1927, and now, 98 years later, we sit squarely within the statistical window."

Video: The destruction in west Turkey following an earthquake. Credit: X

The source stated, "Israel should have prepared substantially for earthquakes, yet in reality, only 87 schools across risk zones have been strengthened from 1,600 functioning regionally. Moreover, five of seven hospitals fail to meet protective requirements. These numbers persist despite a 2008 decision allocating 3.5 billion shekels ($987 million) addressing concerns over 25 years, representing 140 million shekels ($39 million) annually."

This predicament persisted after 2010 when the government initiated funding for the sector. Allocation continued approximately two years before stalling when the Treasury Ministry demanded Health and Education ministries finance reinforcements independently. The saga extended until 2017-2018 when two powerful earthquakes struck Syria and Turkey. In 2019, the government committed five billion shekels ($1.41 billion) for reinforcements, projecting implementation through 2030. Yet even here, merely 850 million shekels ($240 million) have materialized. "All while discussing critical infrastructure protection," Dr. Avni clarified.

The nightmare projection – magnitude 7.5 earthquake

Does the once-per-century statistic hold absolutely?

Dr. Avni noted this represents an average. "The country's last earthquake occurred in 1927. Previously, a devastating earthquake demolished Safed city, causing 5,000 fatalities in 1837. Earlier, in 1759, a severe earthquake hit the Bekaa Valley. Though intervals occasionally widened, the average remains roughly centennial. From this perspective, we occupy the danger zone, yet no comprehensive preparation exists, as the State Comptroller highlighted in the 2024 earthquake follow-up report."

Dr. Michael Weiss, Emergency Medicine Department head at Safed Academic College, outlined the nightmare scenario underlying national emergency readiness. "Israel's earthquake nightmare scenario depicts a magnitude 7.5 earthquake centered in Beit She'an. The scenario projects 16,000 fatalities, 6,000 severe injuries, and approximately 377,000 evacuations. Additionally, 10,000 buildings would collapse with tens of thousands sustaining major structural damage."

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The incident occurred on August 23, when Dr. Shifron and his wife arrived to check in their luggage at Wizz Air's general check-in counter. According to him, the company representative asked him where he was flying, and when he answered "Tel Aviv," she hurled at him the statement: "Stop the war."

Dr. Adir Shifron reported that he was attacked with antisemitic statements by a Wizz Air company representative. Shifron tried to respond politely: "I hope the war ends soon and that all sides are suffering," but the representative continued to attack: "Only you are killing the Palestinians." When he reminded her of the massacre that occurred on October 7 in Israel, she replied: "No, you are killing the Palestinians for 47 years."

Shifron tried to find out the representative's name, but she refused to provide it until her supervisor confirmed that it was a representative named Maria.

In an official letter to company management, Dr. Shifron described the humiliating incident and demanded a public apology, disciplinary measures against the representative, and a commitment to a mechanism that would prevent such cases from recurring in the future: "This is not only deeply offensive but also antisemitic," he wrote. "As a frequent Wizz Air passenger and a Priority customer, I expect to be treated with respect—not targeted with personal, political, and hateful remarks from your staff."

The airline responded in an official letter through company representative Mohamed Salem, stating that the relevant department was investigating the case. However, more than a week later, no further response or public apology has been received.

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The evacuation operation utilized a 13-hour cruise from Ashdod port, with the vessel escorted by the Israeli Navy for security protection. The luxury cruise ship, operated by Mano Maritime, carried participants who had been unable to leave Israel through regular commercial flights.

From Cyprus, American participants will board four wide-body aircraft chartered by Florida Governor Ron DeSantis for transport to Tampa, Florida, according to a statement released by Birthright Israel. Once participants arrive in Tampa, they will be able to continue their journeys to their respective hometowns across the United States.

Birthright Israel, which sponsors free 10-day educational trips to Israel for Jewish young adults aged 18-32, organized the emergency evacuation as commercial flight options became limited. The program, founded in 1999, has brought over 800,000 participants to Israel since its inception.

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In a remarkable display of international medical cooperation, eight kidney transplants have been performed across Israel and Cyprus as part of a pioneering cross-border organ exchange program. The intricate operation, involving multiple hospitals and a meticulously coordinated logistics effort, was made possible by two altruistic donors who approached the National Transplant Center, initiating a "transplant chain."

The joint operation, conducted on Monday, saw five procedures taking place in Israel and three in Cyprus. The National Transplant Center matched the pairs using specialized computer software, drawing from an international database containing incompatible family member pairs.

Starting at 5:00 a.m., kidneys harvested at Hadassah and Soroka hospitals were transported by ambulance to the airport and flown to Cyprus. Concurrently, another kidney from Hadassah was transferred to Soroka, while one from Beilinson was sent to Hadassah. At 2:00 p.m., two kidneys arrived from Cyprus, destined for Beilinson and Hadassah. By 6:00 p.m., all transplants were completed in both countries, with recipients in good condition and new kidneys functioning.

In Israel, three transplants occurred at Hadassah, one at Beilinson, and one at Soroka, with an additional Hadassah transplant performed a day earlier. In total, Israel saw 10 surgeries: five kidney removals and five transplants.

Professor Shlomo Mor Yosef, chairman of the Steering Committee, said, "I commend the cooperation between Israel and Cyprus. These exchanges provide solutions for patients with antibodies. I urge every family with a patient needing a kidney transplant to join the exchange database if no match is found among them."

Dr. Tamar Ashkenazi commented, "This marks our first two-way kidney exchange with Cyprus. Their single transplant center in Nicosia performed six surgeries in one day, supported by a surgeon from England. I'd like to thank Ms. Rona Simon, who manages our exchange database, facilitating over 60 successful cross-transplants annually. Israel maintains similar programs with the Czech Republic, Austria, and the United Arab Emirates."

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Israel is poised to finalize an energy deal with Greece and Cyprus which will include a mammoth electricity project connecting the power grids of the three countries, and a potential future regional natural gas pipeline between the eastern Mediterranean allies.

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The expected accord comes amid burgeoning relations between Israel and both Cyprus and Greece in a variety of fields including energy, defense, tourism, high-tech and cybersecurity.

Video: Netanyahu and his wife at the airport / Credit: Mati Tuchfeld

The international energy venture puts the eastern Mediterranean on the map as a key energy provider to Europe, as the war in Ukraine and sanctions on Russia fuel a global energy crisis that has hit the European Union hard, spotlighting the continent's dependence on foreign energy.

"The partnership between our three countries becomes stronger with each passing year," Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday evening in Nicosia at the start of a 24-hour visit which will include a trilateral summit meeting of the three countries' leaders on Monday.

"Our strategic partnership and friendship is strong, and will solidify further," said Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides.

The top-level government meeting in Cyprus on Monday is expected to be the final round of consultations between the leaders before a deal is formally announced.

The deal to link the three countries' electrical grids, referred to as an "energy highway," is expected to be inked first, National Security Adviser Tzachi Hanegbi told JNS.

The 2,000-megawatt undersea cable will be the world's longest and deepest underwater electricity cable, crossing the Mediterranean seabed bridging Asia and Europe.

Netanyahu said that in the coming months a decision will also be made on how best to cooperate in the field of natural gas as part of a deepening partnership founded on the discovery of substantial offshore natural gas deposits which, he said, can serve as an energy corridor to Europe and beyond, including Arab countries in the region.

Among the options being considered are a natural gas pipeline between the three countries, known as the Eastern Mediterranean pipeline or simply EastMed; a liquefaction plant in Cyprus; a floating liquefaction plant in Israeli waters, or, pending the geostrategic situation with Ankara, a natural gas pipeline to Turkey which could pass through Cyprus as well and which will be connected to Azerbaijani gas.

Turkey has long been a regional rival to Greece, while Israel's relations with Ankara, which have improved of late, have been unsteady in the face of the volatile and intermittently hostile leadership of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Feasibility studies on the proposed 1,900 kilometer (1,300 mile), $6 billion EastMed pipeline are still ongoing, amid doubts regarding its financial feasibility.

"There is politics and there is economics," University of Nicosia professor Andreas Theophanous told JNS. "The EastMed is not viable for economic reasons but we must start from somewhere, and [also] see if Turkey will change its policies towards Cyprus and Israel."

Summit delayed

The trilateral summit in Cyprus, which was originally scheduled to be held last month, was postponed until this week due to Netanyahu's hospitalization for the implantation of a cardiac pacemaker. Cyprus and Israel will also hold a full government to government (G2G) minister's meeting in Israel in the first quarter of next year, the leaders announced Sunday.

Turkey too?

In a sign of warming ties between Jerusalem and Ankara, the Israeli leader is also set to visit Turkey shortly, the first such visit in over a decade and a half.

In a further sign of a regional push to include Turkey in a future gas deal, Energy Minister Israel Katz said on Sunday that he held separate talks with his Turkish and Egyptian counterparts, as well as with the U.S. envoy for regional normalizations efforts, following talks with the Greek and Cypriot energy ministers.

Regional firefighting force promoted

Netanyahu said that Israel was also supportive of a European decision to build a regional firefighting force and emergency center based in Cyprus, and suggested that the three countries also jointly consider purchasing a supertanker fire plane.

The Israeli firefighting team being sent to Cyprus, Aug. 7, 2023. Credit: Prime Minister's Office.
Israel assisted both Cyprus and Greece combat major wildfires this summer, and received warm words of praise and thanks from the Cypriot president for its sign of friendship.

"The climate isn't going to get cooler, it's only going to get hotter," said Netanyahu.

Joint history

The premier went on to state that the countries' newfound friendship over the past decade after years of cold relations, which he called an anomaly, was based on common values and a shared history. "Western civilization is a result of basically Greek culture and Judaism fused together," he said.

 Reprinted with permission from JNS.org.

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From the beginning of September to December, Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, will go on at least five trips abroad, some of which are particularly desirable in the diplomatic field.

Only last weekend Netanyahu's planned visit to Cyprus was rescheduled, with his first flight for the season of political visits set for September 3-4.

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Netanyahu's flights were canceled last month when he fell ill and had pacemaker surgery. The process, which spanned several weeks, started out with a report of dehydration and ended with the prime minister undergoing an overnight procedure to fit him with the device, after which the Prime Minister's Office reported that the doctors advised Netanyahu to rest, and his trips to Cyprus and Turkey were postponed.

Video: PM Netanyahu before his visit to Rome, March 2023 / GPO

The diplomatic visit to Cyprus will include a meeting with the Cypriot prime minister, a separate meeting with the Greek Prime Minister, and then a tripartite meeting of the three politicians. The trip to Cyprus was decided following the reconciliation between Israel and Turkey, which might have clouded the relations between the two countries. Netanyahu intended to first express his commitment to an alliance with Cyprus and Greece, and only then to travel to Turkey.

This arrangement will also be maintained in the prime minister's new political schedule. This is the first meeting between Netanyahu and President Recep Tayyip Erdogan after the severing of ties with Turkey following the Mavi Marmara events in 2010, as well as most likely the only first official bilateral meeting. President Isaac Herzog took the first steps to "warm up" relations and now it is Netanyahu's turn.

On September 18-23, Netanyahu will participate in the United Nations Assembly's annual General Debate in New York, but it is not yet known when he will make his expected speech. The order of the leaders' speeches is usually arranged about ten days before the start of the convention, with the order of placement being as follows: kings first, then presidents and prime ministers, and finally ministers. The trip is expected to take place immediately after Rosh Hashanah (the Jewish New Year), and Netanyahu will fly out one day before making his speech. As part of his stay at the United Nations, Netanyahu will hold political meetings with leaders who will also be coming to the gathering. The fact that all the leaders reside in the same location makes it possible to schedule bilateral meetings more easily. The full schedule, as mentioned, is expected to be posted closer to the trip.

The long-awaited meeting between US President Joe Biden and Netanyahu is due to be scheduled sometime between September and October. The White House reiterated its position that the teams are still trying to coordinate the meeting, which is expected to take place in the fall. According to assessments in Jerusalem, the meeting is expected to be held at the White House during those two months. Biden and Netanyahu spoke on July 16, the eve of the Israeli president's trip to the White House.

The US is closely watching what is happening in Israel, mainly because of the protests against judicial reform. Although so far only one bill has been passed, the White House has repeatedly called upon Israel to reduce the friction and reach a wide consensus. Biden said the same to Herzog and pointed out that there are great tasks to be dealt with by both countries and it is difficult to progress due to the tensions in Israel. This is also the reason that Netanyahu reached a decision to actively change his government's agenda since the Knesset's summer session ended.

He instructed his ministers and Knesset members not to comment any more on the legal legislation and instead, to present the administrative work that each one of them is dealing with, with Netanyahu concentrating on three main goals: transportation and infrastructure, high-tech and AI, and fighting the high cost of living. A change in the agenda should help Netanyahu advance his political goals vis-à-vis the US, mainly a normalization agreement with Saudi Arabia and promoting the visa waiver program with the US. Both issues will be decided on by the US administration in the coming months – by the end of the year and the start of the election year in the US.

Netanyahu's fifth trip is expected to be to Morocco. In the middle of July, an official invitation was received from the king of Morocco, following Israel's announcement that it recognizes Moroccan sovereignty on Western Sahara. Since then, Netanyahu's office has reported that efforts are being made to find a convenient date for both sides and according to estimates, this trip to Morocco is expected to be included in the prime minister's busy schedule in the fall-winter months.

Since the Abraham Accords were signed, Netanyahu has not made an official trip to Morocco, but ministers in his current government have visited the country many times. Ironically, the one who inaugurated official relations between Israel and Morocco last August was current Opposition leader Yair Lapid, during his tenure as foreign minister of Naftali Bennett's government.

The grand finale of Netanyahu's busy political schedule will be when he joins the Israeli team that will fly to the 2023 United Nations Climate Change Conference in the United Arab Emirates in November. Last May, Netanyahu, and Herzog were invited by the United Arab Emirates to address the conference. This will also be Netanyahu's first trip to the United Arab Emirates since signing the Abraham Accords at the White House.

No less than a thousand Israelis, many of them businessmen in 30 delegations of different various companies who will join the official delegation of the Israeli government led by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, are expected to fly to the conference. Even before the trip, Minister of Environmental Protection Idit Silman is expected to demand the enactment of an important climate law in the Knesset, which will be an official achievement to present at the conference.

Netanyahu's schedule of political campaigns is subject to the Knesset's return from its summer recess and to the extent that he will indeed manage to control the agenda until then and prevent additional legal legislation, as his partners would like to see. Another schedule that overlaps with the political agenda is that of the Supreme Court, which is expected to convene twice in September for a dramatic discussion on the Basic Law: Judiciary amendment on the reasonableness clauses (the amendment prohibits judges from striking down government decisions on grounds of unreasonableness), as well as the ongoing saga of when the Judicial Nominations Committee is convened

The political goals, vis-à-vis the internal goals that the coalition set under Netanyahu's leadership, as well as in the courts, have created a collision course and Netanyahu will have to successfully maneuver between the challenges at home, in order to achieve the goals he has set outside Israel's borders.

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