Global media is reporting that the Dutch government has placed the local affiliate of the Turkish charity known as IHH on the list of forbidden terrorist organizations. According to a Jerusalem Post report:
The Dutch government cracked down last week on the Turkish IHH affiliate in the Netherlands – the main organizer of a planned Gaza flotilla – because of its involvement with Hamas. Dutch Foreign Minister Uri Rosenthal told The Jerusalem Post on Friday that he has ‘placed the [IHH Netherlands] on the Dutch list of terrorist organizations and froze its assets, because IHH Netherlands regularly transferred funds to IHH Germany. This organization is banned in Germany because it has raised funds for Hamas. Hamas has been on the EU list of terrorist organizations since 2003.’ He added that: ‘The decision to list IHH Netherlands was taken independently from the current plans to organize a new flotilla. The government is opposed to the flotilla.’…Last week, a majority of the Dutch parliament voted to ratify a motion condemning the IHH flotilla as an action aimed against a friendly nation, and stated there are sufficient legal avenues to provide the Gaza population with humanitarian aid. The motion noted that second Gaza flotilla could be construed as aiding terrorist organizations. A legislative effort is underway in the Dutch parliament to place the IHH on the European Union’s terror list. In 2009, the parliament – in an unprecedented legislative action in Europe – passed a resolution urging the EU to designate Iran’s revolutionary guard corps as a terrorist entity….
The Post report also identified two organizers of the Dutch contingent of the 1st Gaza Flotilla as linked to terrorist organizations including a leader of the Dutch Muslim Brotherhood and Hamas:
The Post learned on Friday that main organizers behind the Dutch Gaza flotilla were involved in left-wing and Islamic-based terror activities. Rob Groenhuijzen, a pro- Palestinian activist in Holland, is its chairman. He was reportedly convicted of weapons possession as a member of the left-wing extremists Red Youth. Amin Abu Rashed (who has used various spellings of his name, including Amin Abu Ibrahim), is a Dutch citizen with ties with Hamas and the Muslim Brotherhood. He was one of the principal European organizers of the 2010 Gaza flotilla, and was aboard the Mavi Marmara. Israel detained him after seizing the vessel for its attempt to violate the IDF naval blockade of Gaza. According to Dutch intelligence reports, Rashed raised money through the Al-Aqsa foundation in Holland for Hamas….
A local media report actually identifies Amin Abu Rashed as the head of Hamas in the Netherlands. A GMBDW post written shortly after the 1st Gaza Flotilla was the first news report to note Mr. Rashed’s role in the Dutch Hamas/Muslim Brotherhood network.
The Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs (JCPA) has recently published an almost hundred page report titled “Turkey, the Global Muslim Brotherhood, and the Gaza Flotilla” which provides extensive background on the years leading up to the 1st Gaza Flotilla. The JCPA report abstract states:
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.
With respect to the Global Muslim Brotherhood, report’s second conclusion states:
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.
The German decision to pan a local IHH was also discussed in an earlier post.