If You Think #Flotilla2 Is Peaceful, Just Take A Look At Who Is Behind It!

The obligation of the Islamic Nation to open the crossings - all crossings - in and out of Palestine permanently, in order to allow access to all the needs of the Palestinians - money, clothing, food, medicine, weapons and other essentials, so that they are able to live and perform the jihad in the way of Allah Almighty. [emphasis added]
Istanbul Declaration of February 13, 2009, Signed by Muhammad Sawalha, coordinator of the current Flotilla 

Instead of listening to self-professed "humanitarian activists" who are intent on breaking the legal Israeli blockade of those who have fired thousands of rockets at civilians--instead of listening to them, let's take a look at those who are actually behind the Flotilla:

• The second flotilla is coordinated by Muhammad Sawalha, a senior UK-based Muslim Brotherhood figure connected to Hamas. Many of the participating organizations can be directly linked with the Union of Good (UoG), a coalition of European charities affiliated with the Muslim Brotherhood, which in 2008 was designated as a terrorist organization by the U.S. Treasury for transferring funds to Hamas. The UoG was initiated by Sheikh Yusuf Qaradawi, leader of the Muslim Brotherhood on a global scale, shortly after the outbreak of the Second Intifada in 2000.
  
  
• For the Brotherhood, two chief centers of organization can be clearly seen. On the European and global scene, the centrality of its UK-based activists is once again demonstrated, while in the Middle East, its Jordanian branch is noticeable.
  
  
• Other main organizers include the anti-Israel International Solidarity Movement (ISM), as well as far-left socialists from Europe and the United States. Many of the flotilla's main organizers have stated that its prime aim is to create provocations and harm Israel's image.
  
  
• Following Israel's Operation Cast Lead in Gaza, which ended in January 2009, a series of international conferences was held in Turkey to restructure the struggle against Israel. A conference in February 2009 featured 200 radical Islamist scholars who came to meet with senior Hamas officials to plot a new, "third jihadi front" (in addition to Pakistan and Iraq) centered on Gaza. The conference gave birth to the infamous, pro-Hamas Istanbul Declaration, which also provided justification for attacking foreign navies which might try to prevent arms smuggling to Gaza.
  
  
• In general, the same organizers stand behind the second flotilla, with several changes. The most important may be the IHH decision not to send the Mavi Marmara, the ship which brought the first flotilla its publicity following violent clashes between IHH activists and the IDF in which nine Turks were killed. Rather than take a leading role, it appears that the IHH will settle this time for sending activists to sail on other ships.
  
  
• Thus, the flotilla is far from being a peaceful, humanitarian effort to support the Palestinians in Gaza. It should instead be seen as a major, pro-Hamas effort to delegitimize Israel by a "red-green alliance" of leftists and Islamists.

Read the entire article on Who Is Behind the Second Gaza Flotilla

And if you have any doubts that Hamas is heavily involved in making this Flotilla possible, there is this:

'Holland's Hamas leader is brain behind Dutch flotilla'

Hamas leader from Holland Amin Abu Rashid has been seen in recent days training with a Gaza-bound flotilla crew in Greece, according to a report by Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf on Thursday.

Rashid, described as the "brain" behind the flotilla, helped arrange the purchasing of the Dutch boat expected to be used in the expedition, De Telegraaf reported.

Rashid also allegedly organized the majority of the funding for the flotilla, the report said.

Why are members of the Flotilla working together with Hamas?

If they knowingly are working with Hamas--why do they support their firing thousands of rockets at Israeli civilians?

If they didn't know Rashid is a Hamas leader--what are they going to do now that they know that Hamas is behind the Flotilla?

The journalists who are so eager to board the Flotilla ships should first ask those questions before they do.

Hat tip: MP

Going a step further--let's follow the money:Financial Links Uncovered between Hamas and Gaza Flotilla Organizers

According to Israeli Military Intelligence, the terrorist organization Hamas and several organizations behind the 2011 Gaza flotilla have similar funding sources. Three Islamic charity funds from the Hamas-affiliated Charity Coalition directly fund Hamas and some of the organizations connected to the 2011 Gaza flotilla (see below list of organizations).

The European Campaign to End the Siege (ECESG)

ECESG, one of the flotilla’s leading organizers, is a UK-based umbrella organization of more than thirty Europe-based organizations; it openly supports Hamas. Most of its organizations — founded as Muslim Brotherhood branches in Europe — are participating in the 2011 Gaza flotilla. Israeli military sources found that some of these umbrella organizations are sponsors of Hamas terror activity in the Gaza Strip.

ECESG Chairman Dr. Arafat Madi Mahmoud Shukri also serves as chairman of the Palestinian Return Centre (PRC). Due to PRC’s flagrant links to Hamas, it was declared illegal in Israel.

Droit Pour Tous and ABSPP

In addition to ECESG, the Switerzland-based Droit Pour Tous organization and the Italy-based group ABSPP are openly and intimately involved in Hamas charity efforts as well as efforts to illegally break the lawfully enforced naval blockade on Gaza.

So just how do the members of the Flotilla feel like, being pawns of terrorists?
That's another question for the other pawns journalists to ask.

Actually, there may be hope.
Here are translations by NGO Monitor of 2 articles in the Dutch online magazine, De Telegraaf:

Censorship on the Gaza boat (original article here)

by Bart Olmer
Thursday 30 June 2011, 10:54

AMSTERDAM/CORFU 

Furious as a result of the paranoia, the dictatorial environmental, the mutual distrust and the uncooperative behavior on board, all Dutch journalists have left the ship in which Dutch activists seek a confrontation with Israeli marines at the Gaza Strip.

This unique photo shows the Dutch Hamas chief Amin Abou Rashed (left) behind Yusuf al Qarawadi, spiritual leader of the Muslim Brotherhood (photo: Telegraaf)

The four editors that left claim they were being censored by activists who didn’t want to deal with critical questions; for example, a question concerning the financing of the ship which was purchased for almost 300.000 Euros. One of the ways this money was gathered was by visiting mosques in the Netherlands, as this newspaper previously revealed.

Vara-editor Hasna El Maroudi decided to leave because the organization refused to reveal which passengers would be there: “I didn’t want to be surprised by the attendance of figures or organizations which I don’t want to have anything to do with. It also remained unclear how the finances of the boat were managed. I also repeatedly inquired into that topic but the answer seemed to remain hanging somewhere in this vague web of organizations, umbrellas and umbrella organizations.” Hasna El Mouradi is a former NRC-columnist.

Hamas-chief

Now it suddenly becomes clear that the infamous Dutch Hamas chief Amin Abou Rashed has also been attending the crew’s training sessions over the past few days in Greece.

Read the whole thing.

Here is the second article:

Press doesn’t trust Gaza-boat (original article here)
By Wilfred van de Poll

29-06-11

The Dutch-Italian boat Stefano Chiarini, which is part of the international flotilla to Gaza, carries some eight activists from the Netherlands. Dutch journalists (including one from Trouw) were due to participate, but they have all backed out of the Flotilla. What’s going on?

“What we talked about confidentially last night appeared this morning in the Telegraaf! A journalist has leaked our information!” Anne de Jong (30) looked around furiously. In the Iliada-hotel in Gouvia, Corfu, 14 people were sitting: eight activists, two documentary-makers and four journalists. They were supposed to go along on the Dutch-Italian boat to Gaza.

Last year Anne de Jong took part in the first ‘freedom flotilla’; she is a spider in the web of the Stichting Nederland-Gaza (Netherlands-Gaza foundation), the organization that together with Freedom Flotilla Italia, purchased the vessel.

Her accusation (which came out of nowhere) caused bad blood among the journalists. What was this childish “pointing the finger” behavior?

In the past week, the journalists and activists on Corfu sought a way to define their mutual relationships. They would be in the same boat (literally), but the journalists were adamant about staying independent. This seemed possible, but it was clear that it wouldn’t be easy.
Mutual trust was crucial.

But that trust was constantly shattered in Corfu, because of the environment of mistrust that the organization (consciously or not) created. “We are a completely open and transparent organization!” De Jong lashed out at the assembled journalists.

Read the whole thing.

Looks like the journalists may be wising up to the Flotilla after all.
Now, what about their readers?

More on the Flotilla-Hamas connection here.

Technorati Tag: Israel and Gaza Flotilla.