Israeli forces have seized the last of the aid Flotilla which was travelling from Ireland without meeting any resistance on Saturday.

The Rachel Corrie cargo ship carrying aid to Gaza was supposed to travel with the Mavi Marmara led Aid Flotilla which left on the 28th of May from an Antalya, Turkey Port. However due to mechanical problems the Irish vessel fell behind.

The Israeli military confirmed that they had boarded the 1,200-ton vessel named in honor of Rachel Corrie, by the sea and no helicopters were used in the operation.

Army spokeswoman Lt. Col. Avital Leibovich said “Saturday’s takeover took only a few minutes,”

“The vessel was being taken to Israel’s Ashdod port.”

The takeover of the Irish ships with only a handful of activists and crew was much more easier then the violent takeover of the Turkish Aid Flotilla which resulted in the condemnation of several counties and increasing pressure on Israel to end the Embargo on the Palestinian people in the Gaza strip.

Nine activists died on Monday’s incident in which a 19-year-old with dual citizenship of Turkey and the United States was shot once in the chest and four times in the head.

Several more activists were injured some in serious condition. As of Friday none of the 700 strong activists were left in Israel with many being sent to Turkey and Greece to a hero’s welcome.

The Flotilla had activists from 32 nations protesting the embargo on the Gaza strip by Israel, The ships had left from Greece, Turkey, Cyprus and Ireland.

The Turkish Prime Minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan condemned Israel and heavily criticized the country’s government, once close allies with Turkey. Erdogan accused Israel of a “bloody massacre” and said that “nothing will ever be the same”.

Erdogan also said in a speech on Friday that “I do not see Hamas as a terror organization,” And even criticized newspaper columnists that compared Hamas with the PKK (Kurdistan Workers Party), which is accepted as a terrorist group in several nations.

Also another important fact was that the Rachel Corrie was intercepted 30 kilometers away from the Israeli coast during daylight.

however the Mavi Marmara where the bulk of the activists were was intercepted on Monday in the early hours of the morning while it was dark and some 70 miles off the coast off Israel.

The Activists on board the Irish ship, including Irish Nobel Peace Prize winner, laureate Mairead Corrigan, had said they “wouldn’t resist if Israeli soldiers tried to take over their vessel.”

According to initial information, the Irish vessel had been intercepted at around 30 kilometers off the Israeli coast with “full compliance from the crew and passengers on board” even though they had ignored several requests to change course by the Israeli Defense Forces.

The Rachel Corrie cargo ship was carrying hundreds of tons of medicine, cement, wheelchairs, food and drink to Gaza with only eleven passengers from Ireland and Malaysia and nine crew members.

Who is Rachel Corrie

Rachel Aliene Corrie was an American activist who protested the Israeli treatment of Palestinian people in Gaza.

Corrie who was a member of the International Solidarity Movement (ISM) was crushed to death by an Israel Defence Forces (IDF) bulldozer which was attempting to demolish a Palestinian’s home during the Second Intifada.

Corrie had knelt in front of the bulldozer in an attempt to prevent the demolition of the house by the IDF.

The brave activist was only 23-year-old at the time and used herself as a human shield; she was driven over by the bulldozer.

IDF officials later said that the drivers view was obscured but again eyewitnesses say that there was nothing to obscure the view.

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