Peace Activists Aboard Mavi Marmara Were Duped By IHH--What About Next Time?

From the Intelligence And Terrorism Information Center (PDF)

Overview 

1. Statements made by IDF soldiers, pictures taken aboard the Mavi Marmara,
statements from passengers, information found in files on laptops seized from the ship and
statements made by passengers to the media after their release, all prove that the
violence employed against the IDF on board the ship was not spontaneous but
rather a premeditated operation. The operation was organized beforehand by IHH
and implemented by a hard core of 40 violent operatives who were taken on board
specifically for the purpose. This bulletin provides an updated picture based on recently
acquired information.


2. The hard core of 40 IHH operatives boarded the ship in Istanbul. They remained on the
upper deck while the other passengers (of whom there were about 500 on board) received
orders to remain below decks (The IHH leader ordered “Turks, upper deck, Arabs, below
decks.”).

3. The 40 IHH operatives joined the ship in Istanbul without a security check. Most of
them wore stickers reading “Security Protection” (khares amni). They also prepared in
advance designated equipment and cold weapons for a possible IDF takeover of the boat (for
example, they brought metal cutting disks to cut the ship’s railings). The IHH operatives were
commanded by organization’s leader, Bülent Yildirim, who organized the fighters, briefed
them before the confrontation with the IDF forces and instructed them to use violence.
The media reported that some operatives specifically stated that they wanted or were willing
to die as martyrs (shaheeds).

4. According to the minutes of a meeting of the flotilla leadership which took place
on May 16, in which IHH played a major role, the possible scenarios in which the flotilla
passengers participated did not include a violent confrontation with the IDF (an
analysis of the minutes will be published separately). Moreover, other organizations
participating in the flotilla, such as Free Gaza, had their activists sign pledges that
they would not engage in physical or verbal violence against IDF soldiers. All of
the above create the impression that IHH fooled some of the other organizations,
hiding its true intentions to employ severe violence.

Read the whole thing.

This raises the question of course of whether future flotillas will be able to police themselves any better. It also lends justification to the doubts about the intentions of the flotillas that Turkey and Iran want to escort.

Matters may be coming to a head, during a summer that some have already predicted would see another war between Israel and Iran puppet Hizbollah.

Will Obama--who still refuses to take a strong stand on sanctions on Iran--do anything about the threat of Turkish and Iranian led flotillas?
Technorati Tag: Gaza Flotilla and Mavi Marmara and IHH.