Greek Health Minister Adonis Georgiadis made a pointed geopolitical argument on the floor of Parliament Wednesday, decla...

Greek Health Minister Adonis Georgiadis made a pointed geopolitical argument on the floor of Parliament Wednesday, declaring that the Palestinian Authority sides with Turkey while Israel sides with Greece, and that supporting Palestinian leadership the way some opposition figures do actively harms Greek national interests. The remarks came during a sharp exchange with Course of Freedom MP Alexandros Kazamias, who accused Georgiadis of attending a secret pro-Israel gathering at the Athens Club the previous week and of serving a foreign country's interests. Kazamias also claimed a lobby group of pro-Israel ministers had formed inside Parliament, reportedly led by minister Kostas Tsiaras, and pressed Georgiadis on whether he supports a two-state solution or a united Jerusalem as Israel's capital. Georgiadis did not back down. He confirmed around 200 people attended the Athens Club event, including the Israeli ambassador, and said flatly that where he goes as a member of parliament is his own business. "Where I go as an MP will not be decided by you," he told Kazamias. "You are not a school monitor or a policeman." On the lobby allegation, Georgiadis was dismissive and blunt. He said he was unaware of any such parliamentary group, but added that if one exists, he wants to be first to join. He pointed to the Israeli prime minister's public opposition to the Turkey-Libya maritime memorandum as evidence that Israel and Greece share concrete strategic interests in the Eastern Mediterranean. He then went further, arguing that Greeks who champion the Palestinian Authority the way former Parliament Speaker Zoe Konstantopoulou does are working against Greece's own position in the region. The Palestinian Authority, he said, backs Turkey, and backing it in return costs Greece diplomatically. The exchange broke out during a parliamentary session that was otherwise focused on a bill banning social media for children under 15. #Greece #Israel #Geopolitics