‘We do not stain our hands with the blood of innocent people,' says president of port workers' union
Hundreds of Greeks gathered Wednesday at Piraeus Port, one of the biggest in Europe, to block a shipment of military-grade steel to Israel.
The participants, including port workers and members of pro-Palestinian progressive organizations and associations as well as sympathizers of various leftist parties, carried Palestinian flags and banners expressing solidarity with the Palestinian cause and denouncing Israel's genocidal war in Gaza.
Speaking to Anadolu, Markos Bekris, president of ENEDEP, the port's container handling workers' union, said the action intends to block the transfer of five containers of military grade-steel that arrived from India to another ship destined for Israel.
“We absolutely do not want our country and our port to be involved in this war or in the transportation of military equipment to be used in the war. We do not want this military equipment to be used against the Palestinian people, who are struggling to establish their own state, nor do we want it to lead to the killing of women and children. We do not stain our hands with the blood of innocent people,” he said.
Also speaking, Katherina, one of the protestors, said she came to the gathering like hundreds of others to show strong solidarity with Palestinians.
Pointing out that the cargo will be used to help continue the genocide of Palestinians in Gaza, she accused the European Union and Greece of being complicit.
The Israeli army, rejecting international calls for a ceasefire, has pursued a brutal offensive against Gaza since October 2023, killing nearly 58,500 Palestinians, most of them women and children.
Last November, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.
Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.
