A protest over the Gaza war forced a cruise liner carrying 1,600 Israeli tourists to shift path from Syros to Cyprus.
Roughly 300 protestors took part in the demonstration at Syros as they expressed their displeasure over Israel’s conduct of the war and treatment of Palestinians in Gaza, as reported in The Guardian.
As part of the protest, a large banner with the words ‘Stop the Genocide’ was held aloft alongside Palestinian flags.
The protest prevented the Israeli tourists from disembarking with the cruise pivoting towards Cyprus.
A statement from the protesters also took issue with Greece’s increasingly close “economic, technological and military” relationship with Israel.
“As residents of Syros but more so as human beings, we are taking action that we hope will contribute to stopping this destruction from the genocidal war that is taking place in our neighbourhood,” the statement read.
Eyewitnesses said that several passengers on the vessel responded to the incident by raising Israeli flags and chanting patriotic slogans.
Mano Maritime, the Israeli shipping firm operating the vessel, confirmed the incident and said: “The ship arrived at Syros, encountered a demonstration by pro-Palestinian supporters, and passengers were stuck on board without permission to disembark.”
Israel’s foreign minister, Gideon Saar, contacted his Greek counterpart, George Gerapetritis, over the incident, the Greek foreign ministry confirmed, though no details were released on their discussion.
The protest concluded without injuries nor arrests, with the episode highlighting increasing unease in Greece over Israel’s actions in Gaza.
