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Published: april 14, 2010; Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center.

Pro-Palestinian European Organizations Plan to Bring Humanitarian Assistance to the Gaza Strip by Sea

The de facto Hamas administration and pro-Palestinian organizations in Europe are planning to organize an international voyage of several ships to the Gaza Strip at the end of April or the beginning of May. The ships will bring large quantities of aid to the Hamas administration. According to a press conference held in Istanbul on April 2, at least eight ships will participate, including three passenger ships carrying more than 500 people from at least 20 countries. The ships will carry more than 5,000 tons of equipment, including concrete and iron (whose delivery to the Gaza Strip is limited by Israel) (Website of Free Gaza, the organization behind the voyage, April 2, 2010). According to a Hamas report, the ships will sail from Turkey, Britain, Greece and Ireland (Hamas’ Palestine-info website from Istanbul, April 2, 2010).

The SS Gaza, purchased by the Turkish organization IHH for the voyage to the Gaza Strip (www.ihh.org.tr, April 7, 2010).

The Turkish involvement in the planned voyage is particularly conspicuous, especially the participation of an organization called IHH, a pro-Palestinian Islamic-oriented human rights organization (whose full name is Insan Hak ve Hürriyetleri Insani Yardim Vakfi). The IHH is an NGO whose stated objective is to operate in depressed areas to save lives and prevent violations of human rights. It was founded in 1995 and operates in Arab-Muslim countries, including Iraq, Pakistan, Jordan, Lebanon, Sudan, Somalia, the Palestinian Authority-administered territories, etc. It is headed by Bülent Yildirim.

Planned route of the Turkish ships (Website of the Turkish organization IHH, one of the major organizers of the voyage, April 7, 2010)

Apparently the organizers of the voyage (called the “intifada of the ships” by Jamal al-Khudri) are planning to provoke confrontations with the Israeli Navy, which Hamas and its partners will then exploit to make political and propaganda capital. On January 17, 2010, Muhammad Sawalha, a senior Hamas activist in Britain who was involved in sending the previous humanitarian assistance convoy (Lifeline 3), said that the next convoy would avoid a repetition of the “unwanted” confrontation with the Egyptian authorities. The next time, he said, “The confrontation will be held directly with the Zionist enemy on the high seas” (Al-Intiqad, Hezbollah website, January 17, 2010).

For more information read this updated post or you can also read Britain as a Focus for Hamas Political Propaganda and Legal Activities in Europe.

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