Riot police block protesters from approaching Israeli cruise ship in Greece

Riot police at Greece’s largest port cordoned off an area around an Israeli cruise ship that arrived early Thursday to prevent several hundred protesters from approaching the vessel.

Protests have been held at Greek islands and mainland ports along the route of the Crown Iris, several of which have led to clashes with police.

At the port of Piraeus, near Athens, on Thursday demonstrators held flares and waved Palestinian flags behind a cordon formed with riot police buses.

Protest organizers, citing online posts from travelers, said off-duty Israeli soldiers were among the passengers.

“They are unwanted here and have no business being here,” protest organizer Markos Bekris said. “The blood of innocent people is on their hands, and we should not welcome them.”

Greece is a popular holiday destination for Israelis. But the ongoing war in Gaza — and global attention on the widespread destruction and severe food shortages — has triggered hundreds of anti-Israel protests in Athens and other Greek cities, as well as a political confrontation.

Left-wing opposition parties are calling on the conservative government to halt commercial and broad military cooperation with Israel.