The Greek government is celebrating the purchase of three billion euros worth of weapons systems from the genocidal state of Israel. This move is not only a disgrace to every democratic citizen, but it also fails to do what it claims to do, namely to ensure the country’s security.

First and foremost, Greece and the European Union should long ago have moved to completely sever all commercial, cultural and, certainly, military cooperation with Israel. A state that is still committing genocide in Gaza, ethnic cleansing in the West Bank and Lebanon, and carrying out attacks in Syria must be subjected to a boycott so that it is forced to cease its criminal activities. It must not be treated as a privileged ally.

This requires a basic respect for international law and humanitarian principles, and many states have already done so. However, even those who regard humanitarianism as a luxury that has no place in the geopolitical landscape must realise that cooperation with Israel does not guarantee the country’s security and independence. Quite the opposite.

Greece, as a Mediterranean country, can only prosper in a climate of cooperation and respect for international law in the region. Hitching our wagon to the biggest driver of war, expansionism and destabilisation in the region only does us harm. Indeed, this alliance is being formed on terms akin to a protectorate.

The government, which has already criminally ceded a significant part of Greece’s own defence industry to Israel, is dragging us even deeper into the quagmire of dependence on a state that has proven that all it seeks are accomplices and victims for its expansionist plans.

With funds being diverted from our welfare state, it is not even developing an independent defence capability for the country, but is instead funding a genocidal war industry. It is turning the country into a mere strategic rear base for Israel, embroiled in plans that neither concern us nor benefit us, such as the rivalry between Erdoğan and Netanyahu for control of long-suffering Syria.

As MERA25–Uniting Left, we reject our country’s complicity in genocide and reiterate that we demand an immediate end to economic and military cooperation with the genocidal entity of Israel.

We are fighting for an independent Greece and for a Mediterranean where peace prevails, alongside respect for international law and the human rights of all peoples. We demand the country’s immediate disengagement from imperialist schemes, the suspension of programmes that involve us in war zones, the closure of the US bases that have sprung up across the country since the Tsipras government, and the channelling of resources towards the genuine needs of citizens.

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