Turkish media is reporting that the President of the Humanitarian Relief Foundation (IHH), sponsor of the June 2010 Gaza flotilla that was involved in a violent altercation with Israeli naval forces, is being investigated for allegedly financing al-Qaeda through his organization. According to the report:
Sunday,June 17 2012, Humanitarian Relief Foundation (IHH) President Bülent YIldIrIm is being investigated for allegedly financing al-Qaeda through his organization, daily Habertürk has reported. The probe, led by an Istanbul specially authorized prosecutor, accuses YIldIrIm of ‘providing financial aid to al-Qaeda via his foundation’ with absolute secrecy, reportedly without official numbering and identification. A DiyarbakIr specially authorized prosecutor has also been leading a similar case into YIldIrIm, Habertürk reported. YIldIrIm was the IHH’s head during the 2010 Mavi Marmara flotilla incident and recently mediated the release of two Turkish journalists kidnapped in Syria, as well as the release of 11 Iranians last February that were kidnapped by the Free Syrian Army. The IHH is an Istanbul-based aid foundation.
A post from last week reported that IHH was involved in organizing ceremonies commemorating the incident.
The Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs (JCPA) has published a report titled “Turkey, the Global Muslim Brotherhood, and the Gaza Flotilla” by theGMBDW editor. Important conclusions from the report include:
- There is strong evidence for Turkish governmental involvement in the Gaza flotilla incident, with Turkish government support channeled through the Turkish Muslim Brotherhood network. Since 2006, Turkey has become a new center for the Global Muslim Brotherhood. The IHH was not acting alone but rather was an integral part of a Turkish Muslim Brotherhood network.
- The Gaza flotilla incident brought into sharp focus an even more significant long- term development: the growing relationship between the Erdogan government and the Global Muslim Brotherhood, which has given rise to some of the most notorious Islamist terrorist groups – from al-Qaeda to Hamas. Since 2006, Turkey has become a new center for the Global Muslim Brotherhood, while the Hamas regime in the Gaza Strip acted as the main axis for this activity.
- Although IHH declared that the flotilla was humanitarian in nature, the history of IHH suggests that it is not only a humanitarian organization…..Aside from these terrorist connections, this report demonstrates that IHH and the rest of the Turkish/MB network are in fact Islamist, politicized organizations. ….Whether or not the violence was planned, this report demonstrates that the intent of the flotilla was breaking the Gaza blockade and delegitimizing Israel.
The JCPA report contains extensive information on the extremist/terrorist ties of IHH. Read the rest here.