Greeks protest against arrival of Israeli cruise ship in Crete
People have gathered at the port of Agios Nikolaos in Crete to protest against the arrival of an Israeli cruise ship carrying some 1,500 passengers from Israel, the latest such protest to take place in recent days on a Greek island.
Footage from the scene showed protesters waving Palestinian flags and carrying banners calling for “an end to the genocide”.
Greek media reported that police used tear gas against the demonstrators and carried out a number of detentions as tensions flared up.
Similar pro-Palestinian protests have occurred in recent days on other islands, including Syros and Rhodes.
Dutch ambassador summoned in Israel
The Israeli Broadcasting Authority reports that the Foreign Minister Gideon Saar has summoned the Dutch ambassador to Israel for a reprimand.
This comes after Dutch media reported that two far-right Israeli ministers, Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich, were declared persona non grata in the Netherlands for inciting settler violence and calling for ethnic cleansing in Gaza.
Merz urges Israel to boost aid to Gaza, warns against West Bank annexation
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has called on Israel to urgently improve the humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip, saying initial steps are welcome but insufficient.
Speaking at a joint press conference in Berlin with Jordan’s King Abdullah, Merz confirmed that two German aircraft may begin airdropping humanitarian aid from Jordan into Gaza as early as Wednesday.
He stressed that further progress is necessary to prevent a worsening crisis and warned against any further moves towards annexation of the occupied West Bank.
“There can be no further steps or actions toward annexation,” he said, referring to growing international concerns over Israel’s settlement expansion and potential territorial claims.
Recognition of a Palestinian state must be viewed as one of the final steps within the framework of a negotiated two-state solution, Merz said.
Urges? Warns? Merz is just as complicit playing into the aid theater.
