The Israeli Chamber of Commerce last week opened an office in Banja Luka, the seat of government of the Bosnia and Herzegovina entity of Republika Srpska, in a move officials said would “further strengthen” the two sides’ ties. The opening comes when Israel faces growing international criticism due to its genocidal war against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, including by the Sarajevo-based Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the other main political entity within Bosnia. But in Republika Srpska, Israel has enjoyed strong support since the start of the war on Gaza in October 2023.
Milorad Dodik, the entity’s former president and effective leader, has frequently expressed pro-Israeli views positioning Republika Srpska as a key ally of Israel in the Balkans. Following the outbreak of the Gaza war, Dodik said that Republika Srpska fully supports Israel’s right to self-defence, while the Palace of the Republic in Banja Luka was illuminated with the colours of the Israeli flag. Dodik, who last year was stripped of his post and banned from holding political office for six years.
That was after being convicted for refusing to comply with the decisions by the international envoy overseeing the peace deal that ended Bosnia’s 1990s war. He has opposed initiatives for the international recognition of Palestine. In August 2025, he said “a state that does not exist in reality cannot be lawfully recognised”.
Speaking at the opening ceremony in Banja Luka on Thursday, Dodik highlighted the political and historical ties between the Serb and Jewish people and what he described as their similar “suffering”. Israel’s Ambassador in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Galit Peleg, said the office in Banja Luka is aimed at connecting businesses and to promote “investment cooperation“ between the two sides, without offering details. Dodik said Republika Srpska will create a support programme for new technologies from Israel, without disclosing details.
Similarly, Republika Srpska authorities have touted the possibility of a significant Israeli investment, without providing any information. The office’s president is Amir Gross Kabiri, an Israeli businessman, industrialist and investor who in recent years has become one of the most prominent figures in Bosnia’s economic and political life. He became known to the country’s wider public after his company, a subsidiary of the M.T.
Abraham Group, an international conglomerate and investment group, signed a contract in 2020 to lease the facilities of the collapsed Mostar aluminium giant Aluminij. After signing the agreement on the office opening, Ana Trisic Babic, the acting director of the Office for International Cooperation of the Republic of Srpska, said the entity and Israel “have long nurtured friendly relations”, which she linked to “the historical experiences of the two peoples and the challenges they face”. She added that the authorities of Republic of Srpska view Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s support for the opening of the office as a confirmation of those relations.
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