An Arab Israeli politician spoke out against an alleged theft by the Israeli forces of the Flotilla activists’ personal belongings.
Hanin Zuabi, who is member of the Israeli parliament, Knesset, joined the humanitarian campaign to break Israel’s three years old siege of the Gaza Strip under the banner of Freedom Flotilla.
Israeli commandos stormed the aid convoy on May 31, killing nine Turkish activists.
In addition to the killings, servicemen enlisted with the Israel Defense Force (IDF) have been blamed for stealing the activists’ possessions and some of the confiscated properties are feared to have been used for unauthorized purposes.
Zuabi, who has been stripped of her parliamentary privileges for her presence in the Flotilla, said on Thursday, "People who come to kill have no problem stealing," the Israeli website, Ynetnews reported.
"I’m not surprised at all,” she added.
"Everything that happened on board the ship was an act of pirates…the state cultivates a culture of criminality," she said. "If such culture grants legitimacy to killing people, is it any wonder that belongings are being stolen from passengers?"
The British daily The Guardian wrote in late June that besides appropriating the relief supplies, the Israelis seized most of the activists’ personal possessions.
The article added that the soldiers had used confiscated debit cards to buy items such as iPod accessories. Mobile phones have been used for calls and three of the seized passports had still not been returned.
(Press TV)