Rachel Corrie victim of piracy, terror

Hamas has lambasted Israel for seizing the Rachel Corrie, the aid vessel which had set sail to challenge Tel Aviv’s siege of the Gaza Strip.

The Palestinian resistance movement’s spokesman, Sami Abu Zuhri said on Friday that “the storming of the Rachel Corrie ship is an act of Israeli pirating and terror. It is a challenge to the international community and a provocation to humanitarian feelings,” Reuters reported.

The surge, earlier in the day, saw the Israeli military taking over the Irish vessel in the national waters before towing it away to the port of Ashdod, south of Israel. There were 11 activists onboard the ship.

“Such an Israeli crime to prevent supporters of the Palestinian people will never succeed to end the arrival of those ships. The only way to stop those ships from coming is to end the blockade.”

The Gazans have endured almost three years of an all-out Israeli siege which has deprived them of food, fuel and other necessities.

Ghassan Khatib, a spokesman for the Palestinian Authority also said Israel is acting violently against peaceful activists.

The seizure came only five days after Israel attacked the multinational relief mission of Freedom Flotilla.

The assault in international waters 150 km (90 miles) off the coast of Gaza killed at least 9 people and left scores more injured.