Israeli cruise ship ‘diverts to Cyprus’ amid mass protest at Greek port
An Israeli cruise ship was diverting to Cyprus on Tuesday after deciding against docking at its planned destination on the Greek island of Syros after a mass protest was organised at the island’s port, according to reports.
The Times of Israel reported that the ship, the Crown Iris, has around 1,600 Israeli nationals on board, and that it will now travel to Limassol.
The Cyprus Mail was unable to ascertain the ship’s planned destination, but did determine that it was on Tuesday afternoon travelling in a southeasterly direction from Syros, which is one of Greece’s Dodecanese islands, and was east of the island of Naxos.
It also reported that Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar spoke with his Greek counterpart Giorgos Gerapetritis about the matter, and “requested intervention”.
The ship had been due to spend six hours at Syros but elected not to dock due to the protest.
One passenger told Kan, Israel’s public broadcaster, that when the ship’s passengers saw the protest, “we raised Israeli flags and some of us started signing”.
“Inside the ship, we feel safe, but the children are a little stressed,” the passenger, who chose to remain anonymous, said.
The protest had been organised by an activist group called We Stay Active, which wrote in a social media post that “residents and visitors to the island state that [Israeli Defence Forces] soldiers, settlers, and supporters of the war and the occupation of Palestine are unwanted on their island”.
“We note that there have been numerous complaints from all over Greece about the provocative behaviour of Israeli tourists, who support genocide and who behave as if our places belong to them. We do not want their money! We do not tolerate their presence! Bravo to the residents of Syros!” it added.
An update to the post stated that some people who were aboard the Crown Iris managed to disembark, before shouting “Turkey will f**k you!” at the crowd and then being pushed back onto the boat.
Then, a further update announced that the ship had departed, but that “residents remain on alert in case it tries to return”.
“Of course, those who oppose the war, the occupation, and the genocide are welcome,” the post concluded.
The Crown Iriswas used last month to ferry Israeli nationals and non-Israeli Jewish people between Cyprus and Israel after Israel closed its airspace during an 11-day exchange of missile fire with Iran.
The ship made multiple trips between Cyprus and the Israeli port of Ashdod, including transporting 1,500 Jewish citizens of the United States, Canada and Australia to Larnaca on June 18.
They were then transferred to Larnaca airport to continue their journeys to their home countries.
The following week, it set sail from Limassol for Ashdod with around 1,400 Israeli nationals on board as part of the country’s Operation Safe Return – the Israeli government’s plan to coordinate repatriations of its citizens amid the conflict.