Greece has inked a weapons deal with Israel that will see a $3.5bn multi-layered air defence system delivered to Athens in what is the largest defence agreement ever between the two countries.

The agreement, signed on Monday in Tel Aviv, comes as Greece’s relations with its neighbour and rival, Turkiye, have grown more sour. It also, however, breaks with a broader European wariness of being seen as too close to Israel, following the genocidal war on Gaza and Israel’s increasingly blatant efforts to annex the occupied West Bank.

Turkiye has not yet reacted to the new defence deal. The growing military relationship between Greece, Israel and Cyprus – with which Turkiye also has territorial tensions – has previously drawn negative reactions from Ankara.

“We’re already hearing some Turkish analysts talking to Turkish media about how Greece’s weapons procurement deal from Israel makes Greece effectively co-responsible for everything that Israel does in the occupied West Bank and Gaza,” Al Jazeera’s John Psaropoulos said from Athens.