Israel Matzav

Gaza flotilla participants linked to terrorism

A group of 'supply ships' for Hamas is making its way toward Gaza (Israel has said it will only allow the ships to offload their cargo at Ashdod for inspection and transfer to Gaza over land). Meanwhile, the IDF reports that - surprise - many of the ships' passengers and supporters are linked to terrorism.

While the flotilla organizers present themselves as human rights advocates whose sole goal is to assist the people of Gaza, a new report reveals the groups cooperation with radical human rights violators. According to a report by the Intelligence & Terrorism Information Center, senior Islamic extremists attended the launching ceremony in Istanbul of a boat participating in the flotilla. Among the participants were Mahmad Tzoalha and Sahar Albirawi, both top Hamas terrorists who today operate in Great Britain, and Hamam Said, a leader of the Muslim Brotherhood in Jordan.

Bolant Yilderim, the chairman of the IHH, a Turkish based pro-Palestinian organization that is spearheading the Gaza flotilla, delivered a radical speech at the ceremony to the applause of Turkish politicians and radical Islamic activists. “Israel behaves like Hitler did towards the Jews. Hitler built concentration camps in Germany, and today the Zionist entity is building concentration camps in Palestine,” said Chairman Yilderim.

The rally was also attended by Sheikh Raed Salah, leader of the Northern Branch of the Islamic Movement in Israel, who praised the attitude of the Turkish Prime Minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, and asked leaders of the entire Arab world to follow his example.

Salah has previously admitted in an Israeli Court to conferring with foreign agents and assisting unauthorized organizations, after it had become known that he was in contact with Hamas. He often voiced anti-Semitic hate messages that are based on the most ancient blood libels: “We are not the ones who eat a meal based on bread and cheese in children’s blood,” he said in one of his speeches, and at another event he stated that the Jews are “butchers of pregnant women and babies… Thieves, you are the bacteria of all times… The Creator meant for you to be monkeys and losers… Victory is with the Muslims, from the Nile to the Euphrates.”

If all they really wanted was to get supplies to Gaza, the flotilla organizers would agree to that proposal. But of course, that's not what they want. And the IDF has vowed that it will stop them.

The IDF announced Wednesday evening that it was planning to stop the international convoy of nine ships currently on its way to Gaza carrying hundreds of activists and thousands of tons of supplies.

“If they decide to continue sailing and do not listen to the instructions, then they will be stopped, brought to Israel and dealt with by the Interior Ministry, which will return them to the countries they came from,” an IDF statement said.

The IDF has offered instead to unload the supplies at the port in Ashdod and transfer the shipment to the Gaza Strip, after inspecting it for weaponry, according to an Army Radio report on Thursday.

The Navy has held a number of drills in recent weeks to prepare for the arrival of the small fleet, which is expected to try breaking the Israel-imposed sea blockade on Gaza and dock at its newly expanded port.

The scenarios drilled included the commandeering of the ships, which could, military sources said Wednesday, include violent clashes – depending on the response by the passengers on the vessels.

“This flotilla is a provocation that is not needed considering the humanitarian situation in Gaza, which is stable and good,” said Col. Moshe Levi, commander of the IDF’s Gaza Coordination and Liaison Administration. Levi said that 100 trucks, loaded with supplies, enter Gaza on a daily basis, and that in the past two months over 1,200 tons of medical supplies were transferred to the Strip.

The flotilla is an act of war and should be treated as such. To the extent that it is actually being sponsored by states (hello Turkey), Israel should respond as one responds to provocations by states.

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 11:40 PM