From the Liveblog of
Thursday, March 28, 2024
First Gaza protest flotilla expected to reach waters near Israel in April
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on GoogleLazar Berman is The Times of Israel's diplomatic reporter
Israel is expecting the first Gaza protest flotilla to reach nearby waters during the second week of April, according to an assessment seen by The Times of Israel.
That flotilla is being organized by the Foundation for Human Rights and Freedoms and Humanitarian Relief (İHH), a Turkish organization that was responsible for the 2010 Mavi Marmara flotilla, in which nine passengers were killed after IDF troops were attacked on board the ship.
IHH president Bülent Yıldırım said in February, “We will test both the Egyptian and Gazan entry points from the sea. Israel previously conducted a raid on the Mavi Marmara. This time, they won’t be able to do anything. Even if they do, so what? We’ll become martyrs.”
The IHH, listed as a terror organization by Israel, is alleged to have links with the ruling AK Party in Turkey, and with jihadist groups across the Middle East.
With Turkey and Egypt moving forward in their rapprochement process, a flotilla highlighting Cairo’s role in restricting goods and movement in and out of the Gaza Strip will complicate matters for both Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Egyptian leader Abdel Fattah el-Sissi.
The Times of Israel Community.