Europe

Greek trade union urges protests after Israeli attack on Gaza aid flotilla

Despite appeals, government ‘did nothing to protect Greek crew, insisting on strategic alliance with butcher state of Israel,’ says PAME

Ilayda Cakirtekin  | 02.10.2025 - Update : 02.10.2025
Greek trade union urges protests after Israeli attack on Gaza aid flotilla

ISTANBUL 

Greek trade union confederation, PAME, on Thursday called for protests after Israel attacked the Gaza-bound Global Sumud Flotilla.

"We call on all trade unions, every worker, to strengthen solidarity with the Palestinian people. Everyone, on October 10th, to the demonstration at the embassy of the murderous state of Israel," PAME wrote on US social media company X.

The union, which is one of the country's biggest unions affiliated with the Greek Communist Party (KKE), condemned the attack on the flotilla, also including the Greek ship “Oxygen,” and stressed that it is a "continuation of the genocide" against the Palestinian people.

"It is emboldened by the plans and the support of the USA, the EU, and the governments that back its crimes for the interests of the monopolies in the region, undermining every possibility for a viable and independent Palestinian state," it said.

The union further stressed that the responsibilities of the government are also "enormous."

"Despite the appeals, it did nothing to protect the Greek crew, insisting on the strategic alliance with the butcher state of Israel. It persistently refuses to implement the unanimous decision of the Greek parliament in 2015 and to proceed with the recognition of the State of Palestine," PAME added.

Recalling that the Secretary of their Parliamentary Group Pete Perka was also aboard Oxygono, leader of the New Left party demanded that the government take all necessary actions to ensure the release and return of all members of the Greek mission.

"The government bears full responsibility for the physical integrity of Greek citizens. What we are experiencing is unprecedented and we, of course, for our part, are not going to leave these people alone under any circumstances," Alexis Haritsis said.

Communist Party of Greece also condemned the attack, which "fully reflects the criminal character of the murderous state of Israel."

"The EU’s hypocrisy and support for Israel’s policies has once again been exposed, leaving the crew vulnerable to interception by Israel. The Greek government bears enormous responsibility because, despite repeated requests, it did absolutely nothing to protect the crew members, committed as it is to its strategic alliance with the murderous state," it said.

Israel’s naval forces attacked 21 vessels of the Global Sumud Flotilla since late Wednesday and detained at least 317 activists aboard, according to the official flotilla tracker.

The Israeli Foreign Ministry announced that "several boats" of the flotilla had been "detained" and that their passengers were being transferred to an Israeli port.

Israel has maintained a blockade on Gaza, which is home to nearly 2.4 million people, for nearly 18 years, and further tightened the siege in March when it closed border crossings and blocked food and medicine deliveries, pushing the enclave into famine.

The Israeli army has killed more than 66,000 Palestinians, most of them women and children, in Gaza since October 2023. The UN and rights groups have repeatedly warned that the enclave is being rendered uninhabitable, with starvation and disease spreading rapidly.

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