This is a fantastic article from over at IPT that digs deeper into the IHH ( english translation, The Foundation for Human Rights and Freedoms and Humanitarian Relief) than any I have seen and sheds light on the organization that backed the ill-fated "Freedom Flotilla" to Gaza.
A lot has been said about the people on board the ship that saw the blood shed between Israeli SEALs and the islamic terrorists but this article really delves into what this organization is all about. We have to understand that the world is saturated with organizations that are simply fronts for funding, arming and supporting islamic terrorists like Hamas - hell, we have one in our own midst, CAIR.
I'm not going to excerpt the entire article due to its length but suggest you go to the link above and read it in its entirety. Commit this organization to memory and realize, their sites are not only set on Israel - they are set on America, as well.
A lot has been said about the people on board the ship that saw the blood shed between Israeli SEALs and the islamic terrorists but this article really delves into what this organization is all about. We have to understand that the world is saturated with organizations that are simply fronts for funding, arming and supporting islamic terrorists like Hamas - hell, we have one in our own midst, CAIR.
I'm not going to excerpt the entire article due to its length but suggest you go to the link above and read it in its entirety. Commit this organization to memory and realize, their sites are not only set on Israel - they are set on America, as well.
IHH's Deep, Longstanding Terror Ties
The Turkish-based charity that helped drive last week's deadly confrontation with Israeli commandos has deep ties to Hamas and other terrorist groups. The Hamas ties are not in question. Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and IHH officials simply do not acknowledge that Hamas is a terrorist group.
IHH's web site is filled with stories and pictures showing its support of Hamas. The coffins of the dead flotilla members were covered by both the flags of Turkey and of Hamas. On Monday, the NEFA Foundation published a picture showing IHH officials, along with former British MP George Galloway, who leads a similar organization that partners with the Turkish group, at a memorial for Hamas leader Mohammad Said Seyam that was sponsored by IHH.
U.S. officials have expressed concern over the fact that "IHH representatives have met with senior Hamas officials in Turkey, Syria, and Gaza over the past three years," but IHH is not a designated terrorist organization in the United States.
Hamas is a designated terrorist organization in the U.S. and the Department of Justice spent years of investigation and millions of dollars to successfully prosecute a Texas-based charity that sent millions of dollars to it anyway.
The U.S. Treasury has designated an umbrella organization of which IHH is part due to its fund-raising activities on behalf of Hamas and Hamas-controlled organizations in the West Bank and Gaza. The Union of Good is a collection of charities run by Muslim Brotherhood spiritual leader Yusuf al-Qaradawi.
And IHH has had operations in the United States. According to a Turkish news article, IHH spent up to 10 weeks delivering relief supplies in Louisiana after Hurricane Katrina struck in 2005. In doing so, Yildirim was harshly critical of the U.S. In a news release by IHH, President Bulent Yildirim said his organization was partnering with the Islamic Center of Baton Rouge and Louisiana State University, despite the evils of the American government:
"We distinguish between the occupier American administration and the people. Our aid is being distributed among the Blacks, the poor and the Muslims who are being discriminated against by the Bush administration."
In addition, this report from Global Terror Alert indicates that an Illinois charity called the Zakat Foundation of America coordinated with IHH on two convoys sent to Iraq. Before the war, Yildirim and his charity organized mass demonstrations that included the burning of American flags. Later, Yildirim "lobbied hard to prevent Turkish troops from joining the renewed coalition against the Baathist regime in Baghdad."
Fox News' Ben Evansky reported last week that IHH has been a United Nations-accredited non-governmental organization since 2004. That status gives IHH "access to U.N. diplomats and enables them to speak at sessions of a number of U.N. bodies that are streamed online around the world and translated into six languages."
This continues despite the findings of independent investigations from the 1990s and 2006. They found that IHH, or İnsani Yardım Vakf, engaged in arms dealing with militant groups and communicated with an Al-Qaida guesthouse in 1996. Evidence emerging from the flotilla also indicates that the group deliberately instigated the confrontation with Israeli commandos by recruiting a special corps of fighters who snuck knives and other weapons on board the Mavi Marama.
U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer (D-NY), wrote to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton this week, asking that IHH's terrorist connections be investigated:
"I believe it is crucial that the State Department attempt to determine which organizations are dedicated to providing humanitarian aid and which groups are providing support to terrorist organizations. The distinction should be clear and unambiguous and if there is any reason to believe that an NGO is providing support to terrorist organizations, then appropriate measures should be taken."
A Washington Post editorial noted that all nine men killed on the Mavi Marmara were IHH members or volunteers. A subsequent Israeli military report claimed a number of flotilla activists had ties to terrorist movements. The statement offered no details to substantiate the claims. As noted, however, previous aid trips by IHH, some in tandem with the UK-based Viva Palestina, resulted in supplies and money given directly to Hamas officials.
According to a report by the Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center, which has close ties to the Israeli military, the violence was planned by "a hard core of 40 IHH operatives" briefed in advance by IHH chief Bulent Yildirim. The report is based on statements flotilla participants later gave to Israeli security officials. One ship's officer said crew members were told to ensure no weapons were brought on board. However, the 40 IHH activists skipped the security check before boarding.
Some passengers on the Mavi Marmara were found with "exceptionally large sums of money" on them, which the report said were "meant to be transferred to Hamas (the passengers claimed the money was for their own personal use)."
The Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI) cites a Hamas newspaper report that the grandson of Abdullah Azzam, a mentor to Osama bin Laden and an icon to Hamas, was
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