The Mavi Marmara was sponsored by the Insani Yardim Vakfi (translated as “Humanitarian Relief Fund” – known by the acronym IHH) – a group which claims to be a social welfare organization.
A significant number of IHH activists were aboard last year’s flotilla, which included declarations of martyrdom intentions and songs reminiscing over the deaths of Jews.
Just last month, the IHH held a press conference in Istanbul condemning the killing of Osama Bin Laden as “American terrorism.”
A week later, the leader of the IHH (Bülent Yildirim) discussed this year’s flotilla with Turkey’s Channel 5 TV, stating: “even if we sacrifice shaheeds for this cause, we will have justice on our side.”
The IHH has substantial connections with the Muslim Brotherhood, and has met with and been praised by Hamas for its activism in Gaza. Documents discovered in the West Bank in 2002 revealed that IHH funds had been transferred to a “charitable society”, from which funding was then transferred to the families of suicide bombers. Research indicates this is just the tip of the iceberg – and that the IHH has been involved in funding violent extremists elsewhere.
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