The billions of dollars that Israel will rake in from a recently announced defense deal with Greece will greatly help the Israeli economy after the country has fought three different wars in the past three years. The benefits, however, far outweigh the pecuniary relief. For a country increasingly isolated on the global stage, defense deals have proved the most reliable answer to its search for allies.
For decades, Israel has steadily approached countries beyond its immediate neighborhood that it sees as hostile. This year, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu referred to a hexagonal alliance: Israel, Cyprus, Greece, India, and two unnamed Arab and African countries, presumably including the United Arab Emirates. In recent years, Israel has expanded defense relationships with all of these countries.
The billions of dollars that Israel will rake in from a recently announced defense deal with Greece will greatly help the Israeli economy after the country has fought three different wars in the past three years. The benefits, however, far outweigh the pecuniary relief. For a country increasingly isolated on the global stage, defense deals have proved the most reliable answer to its search for allies.
For decades, Israel has steadily approached countries beyond its immediate neighborhood that it sees as hostile. This year, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu referred to a hexagonal alliance: Israel, Cyprus, Greece, India, and two unnamed Arab and African countries, presumably including the United Arab Emirates. In recent years, Israel has expanded defense relationships with all of these countries.
“In the vision I see before me, we will create an entire system, essentially a ‘hexagon’ of alliances around or within the Middle East,” Netanyahu said in February. “The intention here is to create an axis of nations that see eye to eye on the reality, challenges, and goals against the radical axes, both the radical Shiite axis”—referencing Iran and its proxies—“and the emerging radical Sunni axis,” referencing Qatar, Syria, and Turkey.
The alliance Israel wants is still elusive; for now, it is a patchwork of bilateral defense deals. Yet a new economic alliance is shaping up: the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC), which would go from India to the UAE and then through Israel to Greece, bypassing Turkey. However, it remains unclear if Saudi Arabia is still on board and if and when this trade route will become a reality.
Israeli strategists believe that with or without IMEC, these nations’ need for Israeli defense kit is so grave and their dependence on Israel so great that they can hardly be expected to criticize the country in diplomatic forums.
Israel’s growing defense partnerships are essentially telling of a reality in which countries prioritize their national and security interests but also that not everyone finds Israel as incorrigible when it comes to Palestine. They have all condemned the bloodshed in Gaza but also condemned Hamas. All of these nations support the Palestinian cause and see no contradiction between supporting a Palestinian state and growing ties with Israel.
The $3.5 billion deal with Greece is welcome news for Netanyahu, who is engaged in a fierce fight for his political survival with main rival Gadi Eisenkot in preelection polling and is widely blamed for the decline in support in allied countries. It gives the incumbent prime minister a chance to show the Israeli electorate that at a time when Israel is losing ground in several traditional bastions of support, it is gaining it elsewhere.
Apprehensions over Turkey’s rise and expansion of defense industry are a shared concern among Israel and its defense partners. Israel fears Turkish expansion in Syria since Ahmad al-Sharaa, a former rebel and jihadi, toppled Bashar al-Assad and invited the Turkish military to build up its presence in the country. India sees Turkey as a supporter of Pakistan—its archenemy—and the UAE has been suspicious of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s sympathy and ideological support for the Muslim Brotherhood and political Islam, which it sees as a threat to its monarchy.
For Greece, it is trickier to contain a fellow NATO member. But a range of disputes over the status of islands, airspace control and maritime claims, and Turkey’s invasion of Cyprus—which spilt the island in two—have long vexed Athens. Last month, Greek F-16s were scrambled after a Turkish drone entered what Greece considers its national airspace. Tensions intensified over potential gas reserves in the Eastern Mediterranean. In case of conflict, Greece fears facing off against NATO’s second-largest armed forces and Turkey’s expanding defense industry.
Under the deal, Israel will offer Greece some of its state-of-the-art defense systems, including David’s Sling, which has a range of up to 186 miles, but also the Barak MX system and radars for air surveillance. It will build an integrated, multilayered defense network to protect Greek territory from fighter aircraft, armed drones, cruise missiles, ballistic missiles, and precision-guided weapons.
Greece did not bring up Turkey in its official statement, steering clear of targeting a fellow NATO country. Cypriot Defense Minister Vasilis Palmas eagerly joined the dots and said Greece and Israel’s air defense network would also help protect his country—from Turkey. “To be clear and explicit, what we mean is that all three countries face a threat from Turkey,” Palmas told journalists this month.
The defensive shield will also protect Southern European nations from an Iranian threat. Cyprus was the only European country to be hit by an Iranian drone, although Iran denied responsibility. Last month, the Financial Times reported that Iran had plans to attack European countries if it didn’t get a desired deal from the United States. Greece and Cyprus are painfully aware that they are within range of Iranian missiles.
Eran Lerman, a former Israeli deputy national security advisor and retired intelligence colonel who now serves as the vice president of the Jerusalem Institute for Strategy and Security, said ties with Cyprus should be seen in the same vein as those with Greece. “We are conducting regular [military] training exercises with both Greece and Cyprus,” he said. “In Cyprus, territory is similar to Lebanon,” he added, as if trying to illustrate how that helps the Israeli military in operations in Lebanon. “Most importantly, it’s all about finding friends in Europe. We need friends in Europe,” he said.
At the other end of Israel’s defense partnerships is the UAE. Despite Israel’s actions in Gaza, it has remained unflinchingly committed to the Abraham Accords, which it signed in 2020, and, if anything, it is expected to enhance ties. Israel rushed help to the UAE when it counted most. The UAE has been the most heavily bombed country by Iran, with more than 500 ballistic missiles and 2,000 drones. Israel transported Iron Dome batteries to repel Iranian missiles and drones, sending dozens of military officials to operate the system during the Iranian attacks.
Abu Dhabi further beefed up Emirati defenses with Spectro, a lightweight surveillance system that allowed it to detect Iranian drones just about 12 miles away, and Iron Beam, Israel’s sophisticated laser that melts down short-range drones and rockets. The UAE is increasingly dependent on Israel as the United States, supposedly its prime security provider, has burned through half of its Patriot and THAAD missile stocks.
With no end in sight for the U.S.-Iran war, securing Emirati skies is the UAE’s prime concern, although it insists it sees ties with Israel as essential leverage to accommodate Palestinian concerns. Last month, the UAE joined Egypt, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and other countries in condemning the expansion of Israeli settlements in the West Bank.
Then there is perhaps the most expansive defense relationship—with India. India’s Defence Research and Development Organisation and Israel Aerospace Industries have jointly produced the Barak 8, a medium- to long-range surface-to-air missile system that offers defense against a range of incoming threats. India has also deployed Israeli reconnaissance equipment for coverage on the Line of Control with Pakistan and the Line of Actual Control with China and embedded various Israeli defense products in the Indian Army, Air Force, and Navy.
Critically, India deployed Israeli equipment in the May 2025 conflict with Pakistan, dubbed Operation Sindoor, and was satisfied with its performance. India attributed credit to the jointly developed weapons, while Netanyahu said Israeli equipment “worked very well.”
India’s ties with Israel under Prime Minister Narendra Modi are underpinned by defense cooperation but also the proposed trade corridor, IMEC. Like others, New Delhi, too, has reiterated support for a two-state solution. But this support for Palestine may be perfunctory. Activists argue that offering peace or normalization deals to Israel weakens the Palestinian position and leaves no incentive for Israel to agree to a Palestinian state.
In a world mired in conflict, with neighbors increasingly wary of one another, Israeli defense capabilities, especially its air defense systems, will likely remain high in demand. Sasson Haddad, a researcher and lecturer in economics and national security and retired Israeli brigadier general, said Israel offers its key technologies only to those it can trust, “even if the war continues and negotiations with Palestinians aren’t very good.”
Haddad’s analysis reveals Israeli thinking. The key question is whether Israel’s defense partners will deploy their collective leverage to drive it toward lasting peace, or whether they are now more beholden to Israel for their own security.