Israeli cruise ship barred from Syros as global pushback against Gaza genocide intensifies

A cruise ship carrying around 1,600 Israeli tourists was prevented from docking on the Greek island of Syros earlier this week, following a protest organised by over 300 local campaigners waving Palestinian flags and banners reading “Stop the Genocide”. 

The protest, driven by mounting opposition to Israel’s policy of extermination in Gaza, prompted authorities to redirect the vessel, the Crown Iris, to Cyprus, reportedly due to safety concerns. 

Protesters denounced not only Israel’s assault on Gaza but also Greece’s expanding economic and military partnership with Tel Aviv, declaring they refused to be complicit in what they called a “genocidal war unfolding in our region.”

The incident is yet another indication of mounting global outrage over Western governments’ complicity in Israel’s genocide in Gaza. With official institutions failing to hold Israel to account, civil society actors worldwide have increasingly stepped in to fill the vacuum. 

In Belgium, two Israeli soldiers were recently questioned by authorities at the Tomorrowland music festival under universal jurisdiction laws in response to war crimes. In parallel, initiatives like the Hind Rajab Foundation—established to honour the memory of a six-year-old girl killed in Gaza—are mobilising support for justice and documentation of atrocities committed against Palestinians.

Meanwhile, the Maldives went a step further by legally barring all Israeli passport-holders from entering, citing “continuing atrocities” in Gaza.

Such actions send a clear message: while many Western governments continue to provide political and military backing to Israel, ordinary citizens and even sovereign states are beginning to resist the Gaza genocide. Cities and countries are increasingly making political statements through travel bans, public protests, and legal interventions.

Israeli tourists have been met with hostility in Sri Lanka. In the coastal town of Arugam Bay, once a favoured destination for Israeli travellers, tensions have flared between local surfers and visitors, with confrontations increasingly driven by outrage over Israel’s war on Gaza. Several incidents have escalated into violence, prompting police investigations and embassy-issued security warnings.

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