Israeli cruise ship’s arrival at port near Athens protested by pro-Palestine activists

The arrival of an Israeli cruise ship at a port near the Greek capital Athens on Wednesday was protested by pro-Palestinian activists.

Upon a joint call by major trade unions and human rights groups, hundreds of people flocked to the Port of Piraeus, part of the Greater Athens metro area, where the Iris Crown docked. The protesters waved Palestinian flags and carried banners expressing solidarity with the Palestinian people's resistance and condemning the Israeli genocide in Gaza.

“We stand with the common feeling of horror and condemnation of the ongoing genocide and ethnic cleansing that has been intensively implemented by the Israeli state in Gaza since October 2023,” a statement by the organizing committee said.

The demonstrators also urged the governments of Greece and the Greek Cypriot Administration to immediately halt all cooperation and facilitation with Israel and its genocide.

"Israeli soldiers are not welcome in the country. We should have nothing to do with genocidaires. And we must underline this, explain it to our fellow citizens, and impose it on the (Greek) government,” they said.

Last summer, visits by the same ship, the Crown Iris, to many Greek ports, including the islands of Syros and Rhodes, and Crete’s port of Agios Nicholas, as well as Volos, were met with similar protests.