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Netanyahu looks beyond Turkey in rare Greek visit

Netanyahu’s two days in Athens come a month after a groundbreaking Israel visit by Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou, and follow a May Israeli raid on a Gaza-bound aid flotilla that killed 9 Turkish citizens and soured the country’s ties with Ankara.

Netanyahu and Papandreou were set to discuss the Middle East peace process and improving trade and defence ties amid tight security. Hundreds of extra policemen were deployed along the airport highway and in the cordonned-off city centre.

“There is a new warmth in Israeli-Greek relations,” a senior Israeli official travelling with Netanyahu told Reuters.

Long a traditional ally of Arab states, Greece forged full diplomatic ties with Israel later than other European countries, only in 1990, and has lately signalled a desire for closer relations and a greater role in Middle East diplomacy.

“Greece is ready to help the two parties (Israeli and Palestinian) come together and solve their problems,” a Greek official told Reuters. Papandreou spoke on the telephone with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak ahead of Netanyahu’s visit, his office said.

Turkey, the only largely Muslim NATO state, had long played an intermediary role between Arab states and Israel. It also had close military and intelligence relations with the Israelis.

But relations deteriorated after Turkey criticised the Israeli attack on the Palestinian territory of the Gaza Strip in December 2008, and cancelled several planned joint manoeuvres. They hit a new low point after the deadly Israeli raid on a Turkish-backed aid flotilla to Gaza two months ago.

TURKISH SENSITIVITIES

In courting Greece, the Israelis may well affect Turkish sensitivities.

Relations between Greece and Turkey have traditionally been tense and the two countries came to the brink of war on several occasions in the late 20^th century. In recent years relations have improved greatly, but old rivalries linger.

An official travelling with Netanyahu quoted him as saying that both Israel and Greece wanted to improve ties with Turkey: “Certainly this (visit) doesn’t harm that, it can only help.”

Israel and Greece will discuss increasing tourism, seeking greater Israeli investment in Greek industry and ecological projects such as water conservation, officials said.

Greece was already seen as gaining in tourism from Israel since the Jewish state’s fallout with Turkey. Israeli tourists who once flocked in the tens of thousands to Turkish resorts are now heading to Greek destinations.

Israel may also seek closer military ties with Greece. “In terms of political and defence cooperation, we are interested in exploring closer cooperation in these areas as well,” the senior Israeli official said.

After landing in Athens, Netanyahu visited a museum dedicated to Greece’s Jewish community, largely destroyed in the Nazi Holocaust and met Jewish community leaders.

He was due to head to the nearby island of Poros on Tuesday morning for a two-hour visit before leaving Greece.