“It appears that organizers did not take one thing into account: Greece’s attitude to the flotilla and that dramatic change this year in Israel-Greece ties. Similarly to Turkey, Greece was considered fertile ground for planning and executing the flotilla. The moment Turkey announced that it was withdrawing its support, Greece became the more natural default option. The country was always considered a pro-Arabic state and an enthused supporter of the Palestinians.

Andreas Papandreou, the father of the serving Greek prime minister, was a personal friend of Yasser Arafat. Only in 1992 did the Greeks upgrade their diplomatic ties with Israel and ambassadors were sent to both capitals. However, Greece’s attitude to Israel remained hostile, and just like Ireland and Portugal it was considered one of the most hostile states to Israel in the European Union.”

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