The rally, organised by the Solidarity Initiative for the Palestinian People, follows similar mobilisations in Syros and Rhodes, and was supported by organisations and collectives from across Crete. Protesters held banners rejecting the “normalisation of genocide” and the presence of Israeli tourists in Greek ports, while chanting in solidarity with Palestine.
Despite the peaceful character of the protest, the state responded with a heavy-handed police operation. From the early hours, riot police and port authorities had sealed off key access points in the city and the port. Coast Guard vessels escorted the Crown Iris, carrying approximately 1,500 passengers, into the harbour. Shortly after the ship docked, officers began detaining protesters; four arrests were made, including one individual who had broken through a police cordon shouting “Freedom for Palestine”.
According to local media outlet Cretalive, the protest remained peaceful until police forces unexpectedly used chemical agents against the crowd. Ironically, among those affected by the spray was a high-ranking officer of the Hellenic Police who had been negotiating with demonstrators at the time. Senior officials were seen pouring water on their own faces in an attempt to recover from their colleagues’ indiscriminate use of chemicals.
Video footage from Creta Live shows Israeli tourists waving national flags provocatively as they passed by the gathered protesters, both before and after boarding.
In a public statement issued before the demonstration, the Solidarity Initiative condemned the government’s repressive stance and the intense police and port authority presence. The group reiterated its commitment to a peaceful mobilisation in open public space, stating:
“We are organising a mobilisation with a clear, public and non-violent intention. That is the responsibility we assume and serve consistently. Any tension or danger arising from external forces of repression is not the responsibility of the demonstrators but of those who cause it.”
The mobilisation received public support from several political parties and collectives. The New Left of Heraklion and MeRA25 of Crete endorsed the protest, while the Lassithi branch of the Communist Party of Greece (KKE) denounced what it described as a “climate of police rule” and criticised the state’s surveillance and repression tactics.
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