Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar asked Giorgos Gerapetritis for Athens’ help in returning international sports events to Israel during their meeting in Jerusalem today, the Israeli Foreign Ministry said.

“The security situation allows for the return of the sports games to Israel,” Saar told his Greek counterpart. “We must return to normalcy,” he added.

The Israeli national teams and Israeli clubs competing in European leagues have been forced to “move” to European countries for their home matches, following the Hamas attack on 7 October 2023.

The case of basketball team Makabi Tel Aviv, which uses Belgrade as its home base, is typical.

Gerapetritis has promised to help, according to the Israeli ministry.