Georgian Interior Minister Visits Israel, Meets Ben-Gvir to Deepen Security Cooperation

Georgia’s Interior Minister Gela (Geka) Geladze has arrived in Israel for an official visit, where he met with Israel’s Minister of National Security, Itamar Ben-Gvir.

According to Georgia’s Ministry of Internal Affairs, the visit is part of a broader effort to enhance law enforcement cooperation between the two countries.

“During the visit, Minister Geladze will hold a bilateral meeting with his Israeli counterpart. The sides will also sign a memorandum of understanding on cooperation in the field of law enforcement,” the ministry said in a statement.

The Georgian delegation is also scheduled to visit several Israeli police units to observe their operational work and exchange best practices.

The visit follows Ben-Gvir’s own trip to Georgia two months earlier, on August 25, when he met with Geladze, Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze, and other senior officials. That trip marked the first visit by a high-ranking Israeli official to Georgia since the Hamas terror attack of October 7, 2023, and the outbreak of the war in Gaza.

At the time, Geladze stated that the Georgian side was “ready to expand cooperation with Israel in various areas.”

During his August visit, Israel National News reported that Ben-Gvir presented Kobakhidze with material showing Hamas’ theft of humanitarian aid and told him that “contrary to Hamas propaganda, there is no hunger or food shortage in Gaza.”

“The State of Israel is destroying Iran and Hezbollah, and is also fighting Hamas in Gaza,” Ben-Gvir said, according to the outlet. “Humanity must not allow Hamas to remain in Gaza — it must be destroyed.”

Irakli Kobakhidze responded that Georgia seeks to strengthen ties with Israel and the Jewish people:

“We have excellent relations with the Jewish community in Georgia and with the many Israeli tourists who visit our country, and we look forward to visiting Israel,” he said.

Ben-Gvir’s trip to Tbilisi came shortly after tensions between the Israeli Embassy and Georgia’s Foreign Ministry, following a Georgian deputy foreign minister’s visit to the Iranian Embassy in Tbilisi. The official had attended a memorial for “martyrs killed in the Israeli regime’s attacks” and expressed solidarity with Iran — a move criticized by Israel’s diplomatic mission.

Earlier, Prime Minister Kobakhidze also attended the funeral of Iran’s late president, who was killed in a plane crash.