Why Israel is seeking to forge closer ties with Balkan states

Israeli President Isaac Herzog concluded a historic first visit to Albania last week, following a similarly significant trip to Serbia, where both countries agreed to pursue a free trade agreement.

The back-to-back meetings with Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic, Albanian President Bajram Begaj, and Prime Minister Edi Rama underscored Israel's expanding diplomatic, security, and economic ties with the Balkans, particularly with these two key nations in the region.

Pro-Palestine campaigners in Albania, under the banner of Palestina e Lirë (Free Palestine), protested Herzog’s visit. 

In a statement sent to The New Arab, the group said, “we do not welcome those who commit atrocities and crimes against humanity. Genocidal criminals have no place here! Isaac Herzog is not welcome here!”

The statement also criticised the Albanian government for “complicity in genocide” for welcoming Herzog.

Israel’s growing influence in the region became even more apparent earlier this month when Turkish security forces arrested a Kosovan citizen accused of operating a spy network in Turkey on behalf of Israeli intelligence.

The latest diplomatic outreach by Israel comes at a time when the country faces increasing international isolation amid its ongoing war on Gaza, which has killed more than 40,000 Palestinians.

UN rights experts and academics say Israel has committed acts of genocide during the war.

Ongoing court cases at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) and potential arrest warrants from the International Criminal Court (ICC) for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defence Minister Yoav Gallant over war crimes in Gaza could further cement the country's ostracisation.

“Israel is becoming a pariah state, and its authority, whatever it had, is increasingly diminishing in the world,” Piro Rexhepi, the Alexander Nash Fellow at the School of Slavonic and East European Studies at University College London, told The New Arab.

“The Israeli president is travelling to Europe’s peripheries to exert legitimacy, showcasing at home that their leaders can still travel abroad. However, I suspect they've received cold shoulders from much of the world,” Rexhepi added.

Balkan countries helping Israel's war machine

For Albanian and Serbian leaders, the chance to host international dignitaries serves as an opportunity to bolster their own global credentials. Given Israel’s significant lobbying power in Washington, it also potentially boosts their influence with the White House.

Beyond diplomatic gestures, Albania and Serbia have shown strong support for Israel’s war effort.

In 2024, Albania became Israel’s third-largest supplier of fuel oil, after Russia and Brazil, shipping over 70,000 tonnes. Serbia has contributed as well, sending over $25.6 million worth of weapons to Israel since the start of the Gaza war.

Maintaining close ties with Russia, China, Iran, the European Union (EU), and the US, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic has demonstrated a unique ability to build relationships with a diverse array of states, many of which are geopolitical rivals.

“For Serbia, Israel is another feather in the cap of its long-standing policy of hedging its bets and diversifying partnerships,” said Dr Vuk Vuksanovic, a Senior Researcher at the Belgrade Centre for Security Policy.

“Israel and its lobby groups in the US are seen as a gateway to direct access to the White House, particularly if Donald Trump wins the election. Serbia’s overtures to Israel in both 2020 and now in 2024 reflect this. Selling weapons to Israel is an investment in political friendship with Israel and, by extension, the US,” Vuksanovic told The New Arab.

“Even in the case of a Democrat winning, the Israeli interest groups can provide protection to the incumbent Serbian government in the US,” added Vuksanovic.

Serbian intelligence agencies have also reportedly purchased sophisticated cyberweapons, known as Pegasus, from Israel's NSO Group, to monitor opposition figures within the country.

“For Israel, this is part of its policy of forming alternative security and diplomatic partnerships beyond its immediate Middle Eastern sphere,” said Vuksanovic.

He noted that Serbs and Albanians are the two most “consequential” ethnic groups in the Balkans. “Gaining friends among EU member states and EU membership candidates in wider Eastern Europe is also a way for Israel to break EU unity on the Palestinian issue,” added Vuksanovic.

Pro-Palestinian history gives way to growing Israeli influence

Israel's diplomatic engagement with Albania and Serbia is relatively recent but has made great strides. 

Albania only established diplomatic relations with Israel after the fall of its communist regime in 1991. Before that, the regime supported the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO), offering weapons, training, funds, and logistics to support the armed struggle against Israel. 

Albania recognised Palestine in 1988, and Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat visited the country in 1998. However, as US influence in Albania increased after 1991, political support for the Palestinians diminished.

In 2012, Israel opened its first embassy in Albania, a year after the Albanian government appointed the country’s first chief rabbi, Yoel Kaplan. Kaplan, who remains the chief rabbi, was recently seen celebrating the destruction in Gaza.

Historically, Serbia has also supported the Palestinian cause, being a founding member of the non-aligned movement dating back to Yugoslavia. However, Israel has gradually chipped away at these anti-imperialist positions, as national self-interest has taken precedence over aligning with liberation movements in both Belgrade and Tirana.

Isa Blumi, Associate Professor of Turkish and Middle Eastern Studies at Stockholm University, attributed this shift to the “corrupting factors that poisoned much of Eastern Europe by the early 1990s,” as neoliberal economic policies swept through the region. 

“We must emphasise that the perception of cosier relations between Serbia and Israel is a false impression,” Blumi told The New Arab, noting that ties between the two have existed for decades.

“Herzog's visit blatantly contradicts the claims that Serbia is immune from American influence or somehow aligned with the axis of resistance. Nonsense,” said Blumi.

Blumi was equally critical of Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama, calling him “corrupt and politically vulnerable without the violent backing of the US and NATO”. He suggested that in courting Israel, Rama is securing an “insurance policy”.

“The use of Albania’s corrupt political class to push policies against Albanian interests is expected,” added Blumi.

"The Israeli president is travelling to Europe's peripheries to exert legitimacy, showcasing at home that their leaders can still travel abroad"

Olsi Jazexhi, an Albanian historian and political analyst, told The New Arab that another reason Israel is eager to court the Muslim-majority country relates to its broader efforts to project a favourable image to the Muslim world. 

As part of Israel’s public relations campaign, Rama agreed to open an economic mission office in Jerusalem during Herzog’s visit. 

The Jewish News Syndicate, financed by the US-based Adelson Foundation, a powerful Israeli lobbying group, described the move as “Muslim-majority Albania will open an economic mission in Jerusalem”.

“The opening of this economic mission is a step toward establishing an embassy in occupied Jerusalem, marking a diplomatic victory for Israel," said Jazexhi.

"It showcases Muslim-majority Albania to the rest of the Muslim world, demonstrating that two Muslim-majority countries - Albania and Kosovo - now have diplomatic missions in the ‘capital’ of Israel, Jerusalem.”

Elis Gjevori is a journalist based in Istanbul. He focuses on the Balkans, Turkey, and the Middle East

Follow him on X: @Elis_Gj