Response to the Israeli attack on a Humanitarian Aid Vessel

I've been reading the comments on the recent and utterly unjustifiable Israeli attack on a flotilla carrying humanitarian aid to Gaza.

Several people commented adamantly on 'Israel's right to defend itself,' but this begs the question: What about Palestinians right to defend themselves against Israel. I think we should be clear that in this conflict it is Israel that is steadily encroaching on Palestinian land. Israel is the aggressor in this conflict. How would Americans feel if Russian contractors began building developments on the Alaskan coast, completely ignoring settled borders. Israel is an invading force and Hamas has been remarkably restrained in response to this threat.

Israel's security policy is akin to the Romans: To feel safe, they must expand.

Along with Palestine's right to defend itself, what about the Palestinian people's basic right to food and water? The constant injustices against the Palestinian people add up to a protracted genocide.

Finally for those who decry the legitimacy of Hamas. When America was occupied by the British we engaged in guerrilla tactics in an attempt to regain rights. Hamas is Palestine's legitimate and democratically elected ruling party - especially in Gaza. Hamas, is for instance even more legitimate than the US's revolutionary-era provisional government - both are militant groups with a willingness to resort to violence to try to create an independent state - however, unlike America's Revolutionaries, Hamas has won a majority of seats in elections observed by third-party moderators.