August 25, 2025 - The South Caucasus News - SouthCaucasusNews.com

Itamar Ben Gvir, Israel’s far-right National Security Minister, visited Georgia on August 25, meeting with Georgian Dream Interior Minister Gela (Geka) Geladze and, according to Israeli media reports, with GD Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze.

According to the Interior Ministry press release, the meeting between Geladze and Ben Gvir focused “on the existing close and effective cooperation” and on “the importance of sharing experience and best practices.”

“Itamar Ben Gvir expressed his gratitude to his Georgian counterpart for the hospitality and conveyed his readiness to deepen cooperation in priority areas,” the MIA said in the press release, noting that deputy interior ministers and other senior ministry officials, as wells as Israeli Ambassador to Georgia Walid Abu-Haya and other embassy representatives, were also present during the meeting.

Israeli Media Reports about Meeting with Kobakhidze

Unlike the meeting at the Interior Ministry, no official reports were shared by Georgian government sources about the meeting between Ben Gvir and Kobakhidze; however, Israeli media outlets reported that the two have met and shared a photo of the meeting, citing Israel’s Ministry of National Security as a source.

According to the report by Israel National News (Arutz Sheva), Ben Gvir arrived in Georgia “following an invitation” from Geladze, and met with Kobakhidze “as part of efforts to deepen political and security ties between the two countries.” GD’s Foreign and Interior Ministers also took part in the meeting, the report said.

The agency reported that Ben Gvir’s visit will focus on discussing “cooperation in the fields of internal security, counterterrorism, and the fight against organized crime, as well as opportunities for expanding training and knowledge exchanges between law enforcement agencies.” The report also saიდ that the Israeli official plans to visit “several key sites connected to Georgia’s police and prison service, where he will receive briefings on operational methods and the security challenges faced by the country’s enforcement bodies.”

Israel National News cites Ben Gvir as saying during the meeting that “the State of Israel is defeating Iran and Hezbollah, and is also fighting Hamas in Gaza. Humanity cannot allow Hamas to remain in Gaza, and it must be destroyed.” According to the media report, the Israeli official “also presented photos of armed Hamas terrorists seizing humanitarian aid trucks in Gaza, emphasizing that contrary to Hamas propaganda, there is no famine or food shortage in the Strip,” and urged Kobakhidze “to join the unambiguous call for the release of all hostages.”

Israel National News then quotes Kobakhidze as saying during the meeting: “We want to strengthen the bond between our countries and peoples. We maintain excellent relations with the Jewish community in Georgia and with the many Israeli tourists here, and we would be happy to visit Israel.”

Tbilisi-Tehran Relations

The visit comes as GD has increasingly come under scrutiny both at home and abroad for its relations with Iran.

In 2024, Georgian Dream Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze made two official trips to Iran: first to attend the funeral of the late Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, and then for the inauguration of President Masoud Pezeshkian. During the inauguration, where speakers were openly hostile to Israel and the U.S., Kobakhidze was seen standing next to Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, who was assassinated days later.

In July, following an escalation between Israel and Iran, the Embassy of Iran in Georgia reported that the GD deputy foreign minister attended an embassy event dedicated to “the memory of martyrs who died during the Israeli regime’s armed attack against Iran’s territorial integrity.” Israel’s Embassy in Tbilisi told RFE/RL Georgian Service in response that they were “shocked” over the official’s move.

Georgian officials have condemned the Hamas attack on Israel in October 2023, but have largely abstained from commenting on the war in Gaza since.

Ben Gvir has been a controversial figure throughout the Gaza war, having come under sanctions of several countries, including the UK, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and Norway, over “repeated incitements of violence against Palestinian communities.”

His Tbilisi visit was met with a small protest rally in Tbilisi, with a group of activists displaying the Palestine flag from Tbilisi’s Peace Bridge, Mautskebeli outlet reported.

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