text: Rachel Corrie Safely Boarded, But Stench of Israel Blockade Remains | ChattahBox News Blog
  Rachel Corrie Safely Boarded, But Stench of Israel Blockade Remains
  (ChattahBox)—The Rachel Corrie, was boarded and commandeered by Israel commandos without incident on Saturday. The Irish-owned humanitarian aid ship bound for Gaza, was seized in international waters before it reached the Israel naval blockade of the Gaza strip. Although no lives were lost in this latest seizure by Israel, international criticism against Israel's chocking blockade of Gaza and its use of force to defend it is growing, as the UN calls for an independent investigation of last week's seizure of the Turkey-owned Mavi Marmara that left nine activists dead and dozens more wounded.
  Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, stressed that Israel commandos "used the exact same procedure" aboard the Rachel Corrie as it did on the Mavi Marmara. And Israel officials continue to advance the meme that the nine killed activists had links to terrorisms and were prepared for a battle:
  "According to the information currently in our possession, this group boarded separately in a different city, organized separately, equipped itself separately and went on deck under different procedures," he said. "In effect, they underwent no checks. The clear intent of this hostile group was to initiate a violent clash with IDF soldiers."
  Meanwhile, the passengers on board the Rachel Corrie are in the process of being deported.
  The Free Gaza Movement, the organization which organizes the Gaza-bound humanitarian flotillas, condemned the seizures of aid ships in international waters. And Turkey continues to spar with Israel over its deadly commando raid of the Mavi Marmara, with violent demonstrations taking place in Istanbul, protesting Israel's actions.
  On Saturday, about 200-hundred demonstrators took to the streets in Ireland to protest Israel's seizure of the Rachel Corrie
  Despite the international condemnation, Israel continues to be defiant, issuing tone-deaf rhetoric defending its blockade that has left the Gaza population starving and in abject poverty.
  Doron Rosenblum writes in Haaretz, how the refusal or inability of Israel leaders to adjust to the 21st century version of Hamas, is responsible for Israel's ham-handed foreign policy:
  "In the absence of statesmanship, all Israel can offer is another clumsy operation in which it comes off looking like some relic from the 1970s and '80s with a commando knife between its teeth. Even worse: It looks like Avigdor Lieberman, Eli Yishai, Moshe Ya'alon and all the rest. Israel has always complained, condescendingly, that the neighbors it is forced to deal with are Arabs rather than "Norwegians and Swedes." Now, when it is dealing with Europeans and the entire world, Israel can see how it itself is perceived − and to blush furiously. If it still can."
  In fact, Israel leaders are in such a state of disarray, that the absence of Hamas terrorism has been referred to as a "propaganda" problem for Israel's policies.
  Indeed, the world around Israel has changed, but the country's leaders are stuck in the 70s.
  One Response to "Rachel Corrie Safely Boarded, But Stench of Israel Blockade Remains"
  'Rachel Corrie victim of piracy, terror' on June 6th, 2010 3:13 pm
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