Pro-Palestinian protesters prevented Israelis on a cruise ship from disembarking to tour the Greek island of Syros on Tuesday. The Israelis were compelled to remain on board out of fear for their safety.
The MS Crown Iris, sailing under the Panamanian flag and owned by Israeli cruise line Mano Maritime, departed from Haifa on Sunday, stopped in Rhodes, and arrived in Syros on Tuesday.
Passengers were scheduled to disembark between 12 p.m. and 6 p.m., but due to the demonstrators, they were forced to remain on board.
Protesters near the Syros dock waved Palestinian flags and held banners with slogans, such as “Stop the genocide,” and “No AC in hell.”
About 300 protesters took part in the demonstration, Greek media outlets reported. Passengers told Israeli news outlets there were 100 to 120 protesters.
Video footage showed some of the Israelis raising Israeli flags and chanting, “Am Yisrael Chai.”
The captain of the ship decided not to dock in Syros and instead diverted to Limassol, Cyprus. According to the original cruise schedule, it is due to return to Haifa on Thursday.
Port Authority police intervened to prevent violence
Syros Port Authority Police prevented a violent clash and guarded the dock until the ship sailed away. No police boarded the ship, local officials told Walla news organization.
“The demonstrators posed no danger to us,” a passenger told Walla. “There were maybe 100 to120 people there, carrying Palestinian flags and chanting,” he said.
“The main losers are the island’s residents,” the passenger said, adding that he, his wife, grandchildren, and the other passengers likely would have purchased souvenirs on the Aegean island.
Before the ship was redirected to Cyprus, Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar spoke with his Greek counterpart, Giorgos Gerapetritis, and requested that he intervene to resolve the issue of the ship’s docking in Greece.
Amichai Stein, Yoav Shuster, Yoav Etiel, and Anna Barsky contributed to this report.