Balkan Politics and Israel Relations: Each Country Charts Its Own Course

Throughout Israel's war in Gaza, Europe's positions have been broadly similar. Some countries, such as Spain and Ireland, have long been louder in criticizing Israel, but overall, a shift from unconditional support toward concern over Israel's actions has spread across the continent.

In the Balkans, divergent policies toward Israel reflect domestic calculations, transactional diplomacy, and unresolved identity issues rather than a shared vision of the Middle East. Experts offered that assessment as the region remains without a unified position.

"Balkan countries have almost no common position, so it is no surprise that their views on Israel and Gaza differ sharply. Each country follows its own path," Marko Prelec, an analyst at the International Crisis Group, told Al Jazeera.

Prelec noted that while there is genuine opposition to Israel's policies in Gaza and sympathy for the Palestinians -- especially within Bosnia's Muslim community -- most countries in the region take positions based on interests not directly related to the conflict.

Florian Bieber, a professor of Southeast European history and politics at the University of Graz in Austria, argued that regional consensus is nearly impossible. "Positions on Israel are strongly shaped by domestic politics and national narratives, making a common stance for the region, or even for individual countries, difficult to form," Bieber said.

Bosnia and Herzegovina: Divisions Between Entities

Nowhere is this split more evident than in Bosnia and Herzegovina, where the war in Gaza has deepened longstanding ethnic and national divisions.

Bosniak political representatives and much of the public in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina have expressed strong solidarity with the Palestinians. Meanwhile, leaders in Republika Srpska have openly supported Israel, and some Croat political figures have also taken a more sympathetic view of Israel.

"Bosniak solidarity with the Palestinians is often seen not only through an ideological lens, but also from the perspective of war and having been victims of Serbian nationalism, comparing the Palestinian experience to the Bosnian experience in the 1990s," Bieber explained.

By contrast, leaders in the Serb-majority Republika Srpska, under former President Milorad Dodik, openly embraced Israel. Foreign policy analyst and journalist Bosko Jaksic told Al Jazeera that for Dodik, "the enemy of my enemy is my friend -- Jews and Orthodox Serbs against Muslims. This religious and ethnic element allows him to maintain ties with Israel alongside closeness to Russia, while also making a new pivot toward the U.S. by praising President Donald Trump."

Prelec added that Bosnian Serb outreach to Israel, particularly to the ruling Likud party, is "an effort to find allies for separatist ambitions that lack international support, and an indirect way to strengthen ties with parts of the MAGA movement and the Trump administration."

Serbia: Arms Sales and Multilateral Balancing

In Serbia, the approach to Israel combines defense economics with foreign policy. Despite historic friendly ties with the Palestinians and votes supporting Palestinian membership in international organizations, Belgrade has exported ammunition and weapons to Israel since October 2023.

The relationship goes beyond exports. In September, Serbia opened an assembly plant for Israeli-made drones, underscoring the increasingly practical direction of bilateral defense cooperation.

Vuk Vuksanovic, a lecturer in foreign policy and grand strategy at King's College London, told Al Jazeera that Serbia's defense industry "is not too picky about its customers, and the desire for profit is one factor." He stressed, however, broader geopolitical ambitions.

"Over the past three years, there has been a tilt toward Israel in security cooperation, while diplomatically Serbia tries to be cautious in multilateral institutions because of its ties to the wider Muslim world," he said.

Vuksanovic noted that Belgrade sees Israel as a partner for "gaining the protection of Israeli lobbying groups and access to the Trump administration in the U.S.," particularly as the Serbian government faces domestic political opposition.

Meanwhile, Jaksic warned of international risks. "Because ammunition exports to Israel rose significantly during the Gaza war, Serbia risks being accused of complicity in genocide," he said. "Beyond financial calculations, the Serbian president tries to use his closeness to his ideological, authoritarian and nationalist ally, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, to get closer to Trump."

Kosovo, Albania and the Washington Anchor

For Kosovo and Albania, foreign policy on Israel remains anchored in security alliances with Washington. Under the 2020 Washington Agreement, Kosovo recognized Israel in exchange for Israel recognizing Kosovo's independence, and later opened an embassy in Jerusalem. Serbia, which pledged in 2020 to move its embassy to Jerusalem, ultimately did not do so.

Pristina opened its embassy in Jerusalem "despite the position of the broader international community," Jaksic said. "Israel's growing influence in the Western Balkans is clear. That includes investment, and in Serbia's case, especially military cooperation. This by no means rules out individual efforts to buy political exemption from U.S. sanctions, or to ease diplomatic pressure."

In neighboring Albania, the government of Prime Minister Edi Rama maintains warm political ties with Israel. Partly due to genuine defense needs, Albania has stepped up cooperation with Israeli cybersecurity firms after cyberattacks, while aligning its broader diplomacy with Washington and Brussels.

Executive Rifts and Ideological Pivots

In Croatia, foreign policy on Gaza is paralyzed by a deep rift between conservative Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic and Social Democratic President Zoran Milanovic. Plenkovic's government follows a cautious, EU-mainstream approach, while Milanovic has publicly condemned Israel's military actions in Gaza as excessive, creating an open split within the country's foreign policy leadership.

Further north in Slovenia, there have been ideological shifts. A previous center-left government adopted tough measures against Israel -- such as an arms embargo, a ban on imports from illegal settlements, and an entry ban on senior officials including Netanyahu -- as well as recognizing the state of Palestine. Conservative forces under Prime Minister Janez Jansa have sought to reverse these policies.

"In Slovenia, we see a classic left-right divide, where populist and far-right parties support Israel because Netanyahu is a similar political actor. They recognize him as ideologically aligned, which helps reinforce a view of Islam as a threat, in line with their own narratives," Bieber said.

Quiet Alignment and Strategic Allies

Smaller NATO members such as Montenegro and North Macedonia have chosen a path of quiet alignment. Both adhere to standard EU and NATO statements calling for a ceasefire and humanitarian aid, while carefully avoiding prominent bilateral disputes or bold independent diplomatic initiatives.

Further east, Romania and Bulgaria maintain a cautious tone, at times leaning toward Israel. Drawing on historic bilateral ties and deep strategic defense partnerships with the U.S., Bucharest and Sofia balance carefully worded statements at the United Nations with ongoing military and intelligence coordination.

Meanwhile, in Greece, successive governments in Athens have maintained strong military and energy strategic partnerships with Israel; Athens recently signed a $3.5 billion missile deal with Israel. Initially formed with Cyprus to balance regional maritime competition in the Eastern Mediterranean, the alliance remains solid despite significant domestic public backlash and protests over the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.

Ultimately, the varied responses across the Balkans show that the region's Middle East policy is rarely really about the Middle East. Whether driven by defense profits, constitutional competition or the search for political backing in Washington, actors in the region view Israel almost entirely through a transactional lens.