1

2

Security Briefing Mavi Marmara & the Gaza Freedom Flotilla

By Stephen E Hughes, edited by Karen Stahl July 10, 2010

There has been considerate fiery debate concerning the Israeli – Gaza Flotilla incident of May 31,

2010, where Israeli commandos boarded the Turkish ship Mavi Marmara and nine civilians died, over

forty injured including seven IDF Naval commandos, two seriously. (1) But in order to fully

comprehend what transpired that fateful day, we must dig into the past. We must journey through a

complex chronological labyrinth of many and confusing complexities and then connect, unite these

seemly unrelated past events to May 31, 2010. Through determination of the actual temporal

sequences of obscured interrelated past events, this will serve to illuminate as why those

circumstances transpired and unfolded with such an unfortunate outcome.

However in order to accomplish this task, we first need to stand back and take in a panoramic view

which will aid in providing a comprehensive and complete picture. To do this we need to ask

questions, review certain data and issues at hand.

3

First and foremost, the Israeli- Arab Palestinian Crisis is a very volatile and

caustic issue. Israel and the territories have one of the highest concentrations

of journalists in the world, reflecting intense worldwide interest in the conflict.

There are over 350 foreign news organizations based in Jerusalem alone,

employing some 800 reporters, cameramen and technicians. Since the

beginning of 2004, another 1,300 accredited journalists have visited the

region. The number is likely much higher with freelancers and writers who

enter as visitors without presenting credentials. (2) It is no wonder why we get

lost in trying to come to knowledgeable understanding. Nevertheless the starting point begins with

Gaza. Is Gaza occupied, why is there even an Israeli Naval Blockade there?

The Gaza Strip lies on the Eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea. The Strip borders Egypt on the

southwest and Israel on the south, east and north. It is about 41 kilometers (25 mi) long, and between 6

and 12 kilometers (4–7.5 mi) wide, with a total area of 360 square kilometers (139 sq mi). The territory

takes its name from Gaza, its main city. The territory has a population of about 1.5 million people, as of

July 2009, mainly Arab Palestinian.

In November 1947, the United Nations voted in favor of the partitioning of Palestine, proposing the

creation of a Jewish state, an Arab state, and an UN-administered Jerusalem. The Jews accepted it

gratefully, the Arabs rejected it. On May 14, 1948, the State of Israel was proclaimed and was

immediately invaded by armies from five neighboring Arab states. This conflict, Israel's War of

Independence, was concluded by armistice agreements between Israel, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, and

Syria in 1949 and resulted in a 50% increase in Israeli territory.

The Israel-Egypt Armistice Agreement of February 24, 1949 which came out of this established the

separation line between Egyptian and Israeli forces. This separation line is what became the present

boundary between the Gaza Strip and Israel. Both sides declared that the boundary was not to be an

international border. The southern border with Egypt continued to be the international border which

had been drawn in 1906 between the Ottoman Empire and the British Empire.

Egypt continued to occupy the Gaza Strip until 1967 Six-Day War, Egypt never annexed the Gaza Strip,

but instead treated it as a controlled territory and administered it through a military governor. Israel

took control of the Gaza Strip in June 1967, during the period of Israeli control, Israel created a

settlement bloc, Gush Katif, in the southwest corner of the Strip near Rafah and the Egyptian border. In

total Israel created 21 settlements in the Gaza Strip, comprising 20% of the total territory. Over the

millennia, Jews have been expelled from Gaza by many different conquerors but have always managed

to return. The Crusaders killed many Gazan Jews, leaving few survivors. Ottoman Turks ruled a vast

empire from 1517 to 1917, including the geographical backwater known as Palestine. They also

frequently expelled the Jewish residents but then allowed them to return. This pattern has continued for

centuries. Gaza's history of habitation dates back 5,000 years, making it one of the oldest cities in the

world. Located on the Mediterranean coastal route between North Africa and the Levant, for most of its

history it has served as a key entrepot of southern Palestine and an important stopover on the spice

trade route traversing the Red Sea.

4

In 1979 Israel and Egypt signed the Israel-Egypt Peace Treaty, the treaty provided for the withdrawal by

Israel of its armed forces and civilians from the Sinai Peninsula, to the 1906 international border. But

the final status of the Gaza Strip, and other relations between Israel and Palestinians, was not dealt with

in the treaty. Egypt renounced all territorial claims to the territory north of the international border. The

Gaza Strip remained under Israeli military administration until May 1994, following the Palestinian-

Israeli agreements known as the Oslo Accords; a phased transfer of governmental authority to the Arabs

Palestinians took place. Much of the Strip (except for the settlement blocs and military areas) came

under Arab Palestinian control. The Israeli forces left Gaza City and other urban areas, leaving the new

Palestinian Authority to administer and police those areas.

In accordance with the Oslo Accords, the Palestinian Authority took over the administrative authority of

the Gaza Strip (other than the settlement blocs and military areas) in 1994. After the complete Israeli

withdrawal of Israeli settlers (actually some 10,000 Israelis were forcibly removed by the IDF) and

military from the Gaza Strip on September 12, 2005, the Palestinian Authority had complete

administrative authority in the Gaza Strip. (3)

Hamas Take-Over of The Strip: In June 2007, the Arab Palestinian Civil War between Hamas (Islamic

Resistance Movement) and Fatah (Palestine Liberation Movement) broke out. Hamas routed Fatah after

winning the democratic election, and by the 14th of June, controlled the Gaza Strip.Palestinian

President Mahmoud Abbas responded by declaring a state of emergency, dissolving the unity

government and forming a new government without Hamas participation. Abbas’s government

received widespread international support. In late June 2008 Egypt, Jordan, and Saudi Arabia said that

the West Bank-based Cabinet formed by Abbas was the sole legitimate Palestinian government, and

Egypt moved its embassy from Gaza to the West Bank. At that time the Hamas government in the Gaza

Strip faced international, diplomatic, and economic isolation.

The Hamas, One Man’s Terrorist Is Another’s Freedom Fighter? “Hamas is not a terrorist organization, it

is a resistance movement,” Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan declared. (4)

Who Are The Hamas? The Hamas are an Arab Palestinian group seeking to create a single, Islamic state

in historic Palestine, Hamas, meaning zeal or fervor in Arabic, is an acronym for Harakat al-Muqawama

al-Islamiyya, or Islamic Resistance Movement. The group was founded in 1988 as a militant segment of

the Palestinian Arab national movement and was connected ideologically to the Egyptian Muslim

Brotherhood, which was founded in Egypt 60 years earlier. The Muslim Brotherhood rejected the

influence of Western culture and called for the increased role of Islam in government and society.

Hamas was created after the 1987 outbreak of the first Arab Palestinian intifada, or “uprising,” against

Israel. Hamas emphasizes the destruction of Israel, the gradual return to Islamic values, and the

rejection of secularization. Hamas firmly opposed the 1993 Oslo Accords, in which the Palestine

Liberation Organization (PLO) and Israel engaged in mutual recognition for the purpose of Israel's

gradual transfer of power, land, and limited self-rule to the PLO. After denouncing the September 1993

Oslo Accords, Hamas increased its strikes against Israeli settlements in the West Bank and the Gaza

Strip, as well as in Israel proper. (5)

5

However we need to stop, and look at the nexus of Iran’s and Hamas’s core relationship. We also

should look at and ask why, Iran a Shiite religion embraced an Arab Sunni group the Hamas, and is

called the fruit of Ayatollah Khomeini’s tree. (6) We also need to acknowledge Hamas ties to global

militant Islam, and take into perspective why the Hamas celebrates the 9/11 attacks on America. (7)

The relationship between Iran and Hamas can be viewed as three dynamic

nexus time periods. In the first stage, in the late 1980s, the relations were

marginal. The second stage began with the invasion of Iraq in 1991. As a

result of Iraq’s weakened standing following the first Gulf War, Iran started

to view itself as a budding regional hegemony and a prospective leader of

the Third World. Its ties to Hamas grew substantially stronger after October

1992, when a Hamas delegation led by Dr. Musa Abu Marzuk was invited to

Tehran for meetings with key Iranian figures. Various intelligence reports

claim that as a result of these meetings, Iran promised to provide Hamas with an annual $30 million

subsidy as well as weapons and advanced military training at Revolutionary Guard facilities in Iran,

Lebanon, and Sudan. Indicative of the deepening relationship, Hamas opened an office in Tehran in 1993

and announced that Iran and Hamas shared an ‘identical view in the strategic outlook toward the

Palestinian cause in its Islamic dimension.’ The third stage of the Iranian - Hamas relationship

transformed the loose financial and military arrangements into a full-blown alliance. This stage was

followed by the 2003 U.S. Operation Iraqi Freedom. Since 1993 Hamas has received an annual subsidy of

approximately $30 million in addition to military training from Iran. (8)

How Do You Deal With An Organization That Holds A Belief In A

Jewish Genocide? "The Day of Judgment will not come about until

Moslems fight’s the Jews (killing the Jews), when the Jew will hide

behind stones and trees. The stones and trees,” will say O Moslems,

O Abdulla, there is a Jew behind me, come and kill him,”. Only the

Gharkad tree would not do that because it is one of the trees of the

Jews." (Related by al-Bukhari and Moslem). (9)

2007, In a sermon on PA TV, Hamas spokesman Dr. Ismail Radwan made it clear that the classical

Hamas’s ideology had not changed, including its continued incorporation of extremist Islamic beliefs into

Hamas’ ideology and policy. He reiterated:

1. The Hour – the Islamic Resurrection and End of Time– is literally dependent on the killing of Jews by Muslims. 2. The remaining Jews will unsuccessfully attempt to hide, as the rocks and trees will expose them, calling out "there is a Jew behind me, kill him!" 3. "Palestine… will be liberated through the rifle," a euphemism meaning that Israel will be destroyed through violence. (10) Hamas combines Arab Palestinian nationalism with Islamic fundamentalism. Its founding charter commits the group to the destruction of Israel, the replacement of the PNA with an Islamist state based on rules of Islam and to raise "the banner of Allah over every inch of Palestine ,(including Israeli sovereign territory) .(11).

6

“Hamas’s rejection of a two-state solution and its preference for a long-term truce stems from three factors. First, Hamas’s Islamic ideology believes that any part of the Muslim land is an Islamic endowment, or waqf, and no Muslim has the right to give up ownership of the land. Historic Palestine is an especially significant waqf in as much as it contains the Haram al-Sharif in Jerusalem—the first Kiblah, or object of Muslim prayers, “ (12) Contrary to what most people believe it was not Al Qaeda that created and introduced the world to the

Islamic suicide bomber, it was the Ayatollah Khomeini from the Iran – Iraq War 1980-88. Actually Bin

Laden adopted this tactic and belief from Iran’s terrorist training camps in the 1990’s in the Sudan. It

was also here that Hamas adopted this tactic . It was Hamas that brought this heinous tactic into the

Israeli – Arab Palestinian conflict in 1993. From 1993

to 2004 the small Organization of Hamas accounted for 46

percent of all suicide bombings, the late PLO

Leader Yasser Arafat did not adopt this asymmetrical

siege warfare until 2000. (13)

Now let’s tie some pieces together, remember Hamas

has roots into the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood, this

is how it is related to Iran. The Egyptian Muslim

Brotherhood heavily influenced Ayatollah Khomeini, who developed the Iranian version of their

ideology in the 1970s. Khomeini adhered to the teaching of Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood spiritual

leader Sayyid Qutb and followed the lead of Muhammad Navab-Safavi, who fled from Iran to Egypt and

was an Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood guest there in 1953. On Navab-Safavi’s return to Iran under

Khomeini's fascist theocratic rule, he formed the dreaded Iranian death squad, the Fedaiyon-e-Islam,

known as the ‘Soldiers of Islam”. (14)

Though Hamas was officially founded on December 14, 1987, a semi-official history of Hamas establishes 1967 as the groups creation,”as the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood’s Palestinian Wing. (15) From , “Hamas Politics, Charity and Terrorism in Service of Jihad , Dawa and Violence , “ One of the ideological principles developed by the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood theoretician Sayyid Qutd is that “the duty of faithful Muslims to revive Islam to transform the jahili (immoral, pre-Islamic ) society through Proselytization (dawah) and militant jihad,” Islam scholar Olivier Roy has noted than militant behavior is Islamist groups appears to be motivated more by a particular aggressive style of religious preaching than by political training. For Roy, the word dawa is defined as militant preaching,(he literally translates the word as call or invitation) and is a more significant cause of militant behavior than political training. Indeed, Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood founder Hassan al-Banna wrote a tract titled Da’watuna (Our Militant Preaching),.”(16) A senior Hamas commander interviewed by The UK’s Sunday Times in 2007 said Iran is our mother, that 300 of the group’s “best brains” had been secretly sent to Tehran and half were still being trained by Revolutionary Guards. He explained they were learning how to make explosives from everyday items and produce deadlier rockets. Some had been trained as snipers. Others have learnt to use tunnels in attacks on Israeli forces. The Hamas commander said Iranian-trained instructors had also taught more than 700 fighters at a base in Syria. (17)

7

Other more official sources such as the Hudson Institute and from Israel the Intelligence and Terrorism

Information Center , Iran provided Hamas $30 million annually from 1993 – 2006, as well as several

hundred million yearly between 2006 and 2009 .(18) Iran has also trained almost 1,000 Hamas terrorists

in Iran, supporting their travel to Iran through Syria and providing instruction in rockets and bombs,

tactical warfare, weapons operation and sniper tactics.(19) Following a November 2006 visit to Iran by

Hamas leaders, $250 million was pledged to help the Hamas regime deal with the Israeli

embargo.(20) Iran provides the vast majority of Hamas’ weaponry.(21) Following the Israeli offensive

against Hamas in Feb. 2009, Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal visited Tehran praising it for aiding its

"victory."(22) In August 2009, Meshaal stated that post-election violence in Iran should not hinder

Ahmadinejad’s support for Hamas.(23)

Hamas has approved a $540 million budget for 2010, the lion's share of which was said to come from

Iranian aid. The Hamas parliament approved the 2010 budget on Dec. 31, but legislators provided no

details. One parliamentarian, Jamal Nasser, said that no more than $60 million of the budget would

come from taxes and fees.(24)

But once again we need to step back and connect the nexus dots, look at some overlooked historical facts. Iran has consistently been described by the United States as the world's foremost state sponsor of terrorism. There are good reasons for this, let’s see why. The murky relation between the Arab Palestinians and the Tehran began even before the 1979 Iranian

Revolution; the late PLO Leader Yasser Arafat had been long

time friends of Iran’s revolution master Ayatollah

Khomeini. Actually Arafat provided training camps, military

equipment and supplies for Khomeini’s men who fought the Shah

and overthrew him. Arafat even trained Ayatollah Khomeini’s

son. Hence the first generation of Khomeini’s Iranian

Islamic Revolutionary Guards was the recipient of Arafat’s largesse.

After the 1979 successful Khomeini revolution in Iran, Arafat

came to Tehran. Khomeini provided him with two gifts, first he broke off the long standing Iranian

diplomatic relationship and friendship with Israel , second he gave Arafat the Israeli embassy in Iran.

Arafat proclaimed the Arab Palestinian and Iranian Revolution are one and the same. In addition he told

Khomeini “we are ready to strike U.S. Imperial Interests anyplace , anytime , and this was no idle threat.

(25)

Now we must further see how the Lebanese Hezbollah ties into this nexus puzzle.

The Hezbollah ( AKA Hizballah )was founded in 1982 with the help of Khomeini’s Islamic

Revolutionary Guard Crops (IRGC) . This was in part to stop Israel, which had invaded

Lebanon to stop Arafat’s base of attacks into Israel. The Khomeini’s purpose was twofold

to help friend and ally Arafat , stop Israel and build an ally against Saddam Hussein. Khomeini’s had

dedicated his revolutionary government in the destruction of Israel. (26)

8

Hezbollah originated within the Shiite block of Lebanon’s society. Hezbollah's ideology adheres to the

late Ayatollah Khomeini’s principle of 'wilayat al-faqih'; the theological basis for clerical rule enshrined in

Iran's 1979 constitution. Hezbollah is one of the most powerful terrorist organizations around the world,

with a presence on five continents including within the United States. It has been responsible for the

most casualties against U.S. targets and interests just after al Qaeda.(27)

The group follows the religious guidance of Khomeini's successor, Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali

Khamenei. Hezbollah is closely allied with Iran and often acts at its behest, but it also can and does act

independently. Though Hezbollah does not share the Syrian regime's secular orientation, the group has

been a strong ally in helping Syria advances its political objectives in the region. The Majlis al-Shura, or

Consultative Council, is the group's highest governing body and has been led by Secretary General Hasan

Nasrallah since 1992. Hezbollah is reputed to have been among the first Islamic resistance groups to use

Khomeini‘s tactical suicide bombing in the Middle East, Hezbollah's evolution from its creation after

Israel's 1982 invasion of Lebanon to its current role in provoking a major military confrontation

underscores how far the group has come and how it continues to be a force with which Israel must

contend.

Enter Imad Mughniyah, the most wanted terrorist before Bin Laden. For over twenty

years, Imad Fayez Mughniyah was considered the key planner of Hezbollah’s

worldwide terrorist operations. During the Lebanese civil war in the 1970s, experts

say Mughniyah trained with al-Fatah. When the Palestine Liberation Organization and

al-Fatah were expelled from Lebanon by Israeli forces in 1982, Mughniyah joined the

newly formed Hezbollah and quickly rose to a senior position in the organization. On February 13, 2008,

Mughniyah was killed in a car bombing in Damascus. Hezbollah officials accused Israel of launching the

attacks that killed him, but the Israeli government has denied involvement. Not limited to,

1. A series of kidnappings of Westerners in Lebanon, including several Americans, in the 1980s;

2. The suicide truck bombings that killed more than 230 U.S. Marines at their barracks in Beirut, Lebanon, in 1983; the 1985 hijacking of TWA flight 847, killing a Navy diver, Robert Stethem,

3. Two major 1990s attacks on Jewish targets in Argentina—the 1992 bombing of the Israeli

Embassy (killing twenty-nine) and the 1994 bombing of a Jewish Community Center (killing

ninety-five).

4. A July 2006 raid on a border post in northern Israel in which two Israeli soldiers were taken

captive. The abductions sparked an Israeli military campaign against Lebanon to which

Hezbollah responded by firing rockets across the Lebanese border into Israel. (28)

So Who Was Imad Mughniyah? Imad Fayez Mughniyah, was born in south Lebanon in 1962 and became a sniper and part Arafat's

Special Force Unit 17 in 1976. He has been implicated in some of the most spectacular terrorist attacks

of the 1980s and 1990s, earning him a place on the FBI and EU's most wanted lists. He served as Special

9

Operations Chief for Hezbollah’s International Operations and as the group's primary liaison to Iran's

Security and Intelligence Services, and also Hamas.(29)

Just to note, Iran since 2007 regularly sends Iranian military delegations to Syria and gives Syrian officers

intense training in Tehran on operating and maintaining long-range missiles. In fact, sources in the

region report that Iran has significantly increased its control over Syria’s long-range military arsenal,

including its missiles, at a military base in the Stinchar area, south of the city of Homs.

This is particularly alarming news for anyone who has gotten on Iran’s bad side. In the summer 2006

conflict between Israel and Hezbollah resulted from an Iranian decision to have Hezbollah launch an

artillery rocket into Haifa and force Israel into a full-blown conflict for which it was ill-prepared. With

IRGC officers literally in control of Hezbollah’s military arsenal and holding sway over Syrian military

commanders, Iran’s adversaries — particularly Israel — cannot be sure what provocations might be

unleashed.(30)

Even with the fractions between different Arab Palestinians groups such as the Hamas and the

Palestinian National Authority (PNA, AKA Fatah), headed by Mahmoud Abbas, meet fairly regular with

Iranian Officials, such as Iranian President Mahmoud Ahamadinjad (31)

Hamas has been responsible for attacks that have ended the lives of pregnant women, babies and

children, young parents and the elderly. It has sent explosives-packed bombers disguised as Orthodox

Jews and Israel Defense Forces soldiers to shopping malls, coffee shops, pizza parlors, pubs and onto

public buses. Many of those lucky enough to survive these attacks live the rest of their lives with

disfiguring scars, permanent pain, missing limbs or digits and/or loss of hearing or sight.

Hamas has long had a practice of lynching, maiming and executing Palestinians suspected of

collaborating with Israel or the rival Arab Palestinian political party Fatah. Do these "collaborators" have

the right to a fair trial? If only. In March, Hamas executed two such Palestinians for supposedly aiding

Israel; in response to public outcry, Hamas Minister of the

Interior Fathi Hammad said the organization would "continue to

implement execution sentences" when and where it saw

fit. The United States, Canada, Israel, Japan and European

Union member countries all classify Hamas as a terrorist entity.

These "resisters" have perpetrated bombings and other

violence that in the past 23 years alone have killed hundreds of

people inside Israel and wounded more than 1,300. (32)

Hamas also has a well- developed terrorist-recruiting tool in its television shows. Earlier this year (2010), the U.S. Treasury Department imposed sanctions against Hamas' Al-Aqsa TV network for its airing of programs "designed to recruit children to become Hamas armed fighters and suicide bombers upon reaching adulthood." This TV network has also been outlawed in much of the EU, and now France will ban it. (33)

10

Sudan, Iran, Arab Palestinians and Bin Laden

After a visit in 1991 to Khartoum, Sudan by the then Iranian President, Hashemi Rafsanjani, Iran agreed to grant military and economic assistance to Sudan, extending to it the potential to not only consolidate its power at home but also to materially and morally promote Islamic groups. December 1991, Tehran’s delegation to Sudan, Iranian President, Rafsanjani, along with Iran’s (former) Other Governmental members -

1. Intelligence Minister Al Fallahian, 2. Revolutionary Guard Corps Commander in Chief Moshsen Rezaii, 3. Defense Minister Al Torkan, Rafsanjani, in addition to these top Iranian Officials, and another 150 Iranian delegates, told his hosts, in a speech given in Khartoum: “Sudan can play a more important role in the new world order.” During the trip, Iran provided 17 million dollars and purchased 300 million dollars worth of military equipment for Sudan from China. (34)

Despite the historical religious animosity, for the first time in history, a minority Shia sect of Islam forged

links with a Sunni Muslim government, Iran and Sudan. The courtship started in late 1991, and the

results were quickly revealed. Revolutionary Guard personnel began training fundamentalist people's

militias set up by Sudan's Islamic regime. Syrians, Arab Palestinians and Iranians infiltrated Sudanese

schools looking for recruits to indoctrinate into militant terrorist training. The ultimate goal of this Iran-

Sudanese affiliation was to spread totalitarian radical Islamic fundamentalism.

In 1990-91, Sudan, Sudanese Leader Hassan Al Turabi, established a regional umbrella for political

Islamist militants, the Popular Arab Islamic conference (PAIC), headquartered in Khartoum. It was

formed with the immediate aim of opposing American involvement in the Gulf War.

April 25 – 28 1991, over 200 Islamist leaders from 45 states gathered in Khartoum and planned their next move. They included many who later became known as al-Qaeda activists, emanating from Afghanistan, Pakistan, the Philippines and Mindanao and of course Arab Palestine, with Yasser Arafat playing a major role. Hamas, at the time, had already opened its office in Khartoum which became a safe-haven for the movement and prompted Arafat to convince the gathered Islamists that Khartoum would `become the springboard for the liberation of Jerusalem. In fact the founding of the PAIC became the founding stone for turning Sudan into an international terrorist center, with training camps for Islamists from all over the Muslim world. Thus the Pakistani Islamist Shaykh Mubarak Ali Shah Jilani, set up a training camp in Sudan for some 3000 Pakistani terrorist trainees, whilst 300 Sudanese trainees later appeared in the ranks of the militant Hizb al-Mujahiddin in Kashmir. (35) The Sudan government created an open-door policy for Arabs, including Osama bin Laden, who made his

base in Sudan in 1990-1996.

11

These efforts to refashion Sudan into an Islamic state bore mixed results because of the opposition to it

and lead to civil war. However, it is true the government of Sudan ceased hosting PAIC in 2000 and

lessened ties with Tehran, the once deep afflation has emerged in the past few years and Sudan is once

more arm in arm with Iran.

12

U.S. Department Of State 1996 April: Patterns of Global Terrorism, 1995

Sudan / Summary “Since Sudan was placed on the U.S. Government's official list of State Sponsors of Terrorism in August

1993, the Sudanese Government has continued to harbor members of some of the world's most violent

organizations: the Abu Nidal organization (ANO), Lebanese Hezbollah, the Palestine Islamic Jihad (PIJ),

Egypt's al-Gama'at al-Islamiyya (Islamic Group or IG), and the Islamic Resistance Movement (HAMAS).

The NIF also supports Islamic and non-Islamic opposition groups in Uganda, Tunisia, Kenya, Ethiopia, and

Eritrea. (36)

Khartoum also permitted Osama Bin Laden, a denaturalized Saudi citizen with Mujahedin contacts, to

use Sudan as a shelter for his radical Muslim followers and to finance and train militant groups. Bin

Laden, who lives in Khartoum and owns numerous business enterprises in Sudan, has been linked to

numerous terrorist organizations. He directs funding and other logistic support through his companies

to a number of extremist causes.”

A captured deep undercover Al Qaeda operative, an Egyptian U.S.

Naturalized citizen and a U.S. Army Green Beret Ali Mohamed, is a

crucial and over looked link in understanding these connections.

Through U.S. criminal court proceedings Ali Mohamed testified how he

provided a security summit for Bin Laden, Imad Mughniyah, in Sudan, it

was there in Sudan Bin Laden received Tehran’s militant training, and

embraced Tehran’s tactic of the Islamic Suicide Bomber .(37)

“And what of “Ali the American” himself? As he sits

somewhere in custodial Witness Protection , will

Mohamed ever see the light of day ? He’s a one

man 9/11 Commission, with more knowledge how

the FBI blew it on the road to September 11 than

perhaps any senior operative of al Qaeda. Will he

ever be persuaded to talk freely or will he remain

loyal to Bin Laden, al-Zawahiri and the Jihad ? (38)

The most painful realization is that it was at these

terrorist camps in Sudan, Bin Laden adopted

Ayatollah Khomeini’s belief and stratagem of the

Islamic Suicide bomber which lead to the road of

9/11.

Now that we have been able to connect the dots

and establish a panoramic view we need to

addresses the issues at hand.

13

Is There a Humanitarian Crisis in Gaza?

The blockade of Gaza has come under new scrutiny after

the raid on the Turkish IHH Freedom Flotilla by Israel.

However, there is no hunger and there are no epidemics,

the situation defies usual categorization. The stores are

stocked with food, electronics, furniture and clothing,

much of it smuggled from Egypt through illegal tunnels.

Cafes offer espresso and croissants. A shipment of 2010

Hyundai sedans recently arrived. Now that school is out for the summer, families are flocking to the

beach to eat ice cream and barbecue. Egypt also closed its border with Gaza, because it was concerned

about infiltration by Hamas extremists. After the flotilla raid, it eased the restrictions to allow some

traffic through. Since the blockade began, Gaza's already weak economy has sunk even further. Two-

thirds of Gazans live in poverty and about 40% are unemployed. (39)

In situations of widespread starvation among a population caused by factors such as drought or war, it is

obvious that the population is facing a humanitarian crisis. By that standard, there is no humanitarian

crisis in Gaza, some 80 percent of the population receives relief, mainly basic foodstuffs, from the

United Nations and other aid agencies. Additional food supplies, as well as many other goods that are

not obtainable otherwise, are smuggled via the tunnels into the southern Gaza town of Rafiah.

UN ‘s OCHA's , “Gaza is not Somalia, but there is a crisis of human dignity there. According to the UN’s

Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), there is no shortage of most basic

commodities in the Gaza Strip and anything can be brought in through the tunnels, although most

Gazans do not have enough money to purchase these goods. The great catastrophe is not starvation,

but the fact that 80% of the population is charity cases”. (40)

Well over a million tons of humanitarian supplies entered Gaza from Israel over the last 18 months

(2009 – May 2010) equaling nearly a ton of aid for every man, woman and child in Gaza. Millions of

dollars worth of international food aid continually flows through the Israeli humanitarian apparatus,

ensuring that there is no food shortage in Gaza. Since the end of the IDF operation in Gaza Jan. 18, 2009

until June 5, 2010, 1,025,686 tons of aid, 49,610 tons of cooking gas and 136,097,330 liters of fuel have

been delivered to the Gaza Strip. Food and supplies are shipped from Israel to Gaza six days a week.

These items were channeled through aid organizations or via Gaza's private sector. (41)

What is heart breaking and not even making news headlines in this

drama wherein several lives were lost bringing this so called critical and

desperate humanitarian aid for the Arab Palestinians in Gaza , the

Hamas refuses , out right refuses to allow it to be delivered to Gaza !

Where is the outrage?(42)

14

So what is really going on in Gaza and this Freedom

Flotilla? To understand the dynamics of Gaza we

need to contrast it against Lebanon. Israel has been

given many guarantees by the UN and Washington

concerning Lebanon, Hezbollah and terrorism,

however for the most part they have been mostly

useless. Let’s look at , 2006 UN Security Council

Resolution 1701, which calls for “a buffer zone free

of ‘any armed personnel’ — both Hezbollah

militants and Israeli troops — between the United

Nations-drawn Blue Line in southern Lebanon and

the Litani River and calls for the disarmament of

the Hezbollah.(43)

UNIFIL, United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon

After the 2006 Israeli – Hezbollah War, with more UN mandates, with even more UN Troops (approximately 11,000) to Lebanon, the Hezbollah has still continually rearmed with some of Tehran’s deadlier missiles. In April 2010, U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates stated that the Hezbollah has more missiles than most

governments in the world. "Syria and Iran are providing Hezbollah with so many rockets that they are at a point where they have more missiles than most governments in the world," said Gates,”. (44) Ongoing and mostly unreported events with Hezbollah and UNIFIL Troops, where the Hezbollah openly

stops UN Troops conducting their 1701 Mandate duties. Hezbollah elements openly not only block

UNIFIL inspections , they have even been attacking and disarming them. Take for example just in July of

2010 in the Lebanese’s village of Toulin residents , Hezbollah elements and supporters blocked the

road in front a French patrol belonging to the UN Interim Force in southern Lebanon (UNIFIL) and

attempted to disarm the UN Troops, they had to be rescued by the Lebanese Army. UN Secretary-

General Ban Ki-moon ‘s latest report to the UN Security Council on the implementation of Security

Council resolution 1701, which halted hostilities in the Israeli-Hezbollah war in 2006, noted several tense

confrontations between UNIFIL peacekeepers and civilians.(45)

Not only has UNIFIL failed in its mission, but its continued presence in southern Lebanon has also transformed it into a human shield for the Hezbollah. UNIFIL's deployment has convinced Hezbollah that they can rearm without consequence. The Hezbollah can now launch rockets at Israel from behind some 11,000 UN human shields. UNIFIL’s subpar performance has not gone unnoticed by top U.N. officials. In a recent report, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Kimoon cited multiple occasions where the U.N. troops avoided exercising their mandate when challenged by Hizballah fighters. According to an Israeli government source, Hezbollah has placed two thirds of these rockets south of the Litani River in the area under UNIFIL control, where the organization is not allowed to operate. (46)

15

It is also believed that Iran has been moving weapons to Hezbollah by means of ships that anchor in the

Beirut port. (47) After the 2006 Lebanon War, the UNIFIL Maritime Task Force (MTF) was established to

assist the Lebanese Naval Forces in preventing the smuggling of illegal shipments in general and

armament shipments in particular. But they have proven no more effective than UN ground troops and

they hardly have the capability to enforce an embargo on weapons shipments into Lebanon and to

pinpoint such shipments.(48) This a deadly historical game of cat and mouse where Iran, Syria and

other Israeli hostile entities provides arms missiles and more, fueling the conflict crisis between Israel

and the Arab Palestinians.

Israel is a Maritime Nation, standing at the crossroads of Europe, Asia and Africa. The majority of Israel’s

population lives in cities close to the shoreline, making them an inviting target for attacks from the sea.

Because of this close proximity to hostile neighbors, these areas have served as launching sites for

attacks, terrorists or weapons smuggling. The entire Western border of Israel is the Mediterranean Sea.

Israel's combined coastline is 206 km (about 128 miles).

North of Israel is bordered by Lebanon and Syria .The northern city of Nahariya (population of 50,000) is

only 9 km (about 5.5 miles) south of the Lebanese border, where Hezbollah has built its maritime bases.

To the East is Jordan and to the South by the Red Sea and Egypt. In the south, Israel’s Ashkelon

(population 106,600) is just 15 km (about 9.3 miles) north of Hama’s Gaza . Eilat (population 55,000) the

third largest harbor and gateway to Asia, is 8.5 km. (about 5.2 miles) north of Egypt and is 2.4 km (about

1.2 miles) west of Jordan. Israel’s major port and naval base is at Ashdod (population 204,000) is 25 km

(about 15.5 miles) north of Gaza. Fast inflatable boats or scooters can cover such distances in only

minutes, giving Israel, only minutes to identify, evaluate and - if necessary - engage the threat. (49)

Historically, Israel’s main experience with maritime terrorism came in the 1970s. For the first time Arab

Palestinian terror organizations gained experience with and developed maritime terrorism tactics that

are still relevant today. Three out of the four major terrorist attacks in Israel in the 1970s were maritime

infiltration attacks. (50)

But Is There Any Evidence For Iran Shipping

Illegal Weapons ? Yes There Is.

16

The Lebanese Santorini weapons

smuggling ship was intercepted by

Israeli Naval Forces on May 7, 2001. The

ship destined for Gaza and

apprehended in the Mediterranean Sea

prior to its capture by the Israeli Navy.

The Santorini , was one of two arms-

smuggling vessels stopped by Israel , it

had made three successful trips from

Lebanon to the Gaza and the Sinai

coast. The ship had loaded weapons at

the Iranian island of Kish, just off the

coast of Iran, then sailed through the

Arabian Sea, the Gulf of Aden and the

Red Sea. The vessel carried 50 tons of

weapons, including 122 mm and 107 mm Katyusha rockets, antitank missiles, 120 mm mortar shells, and

two and a half tons of high explosives.(51) Ashkelon, the Ben-Gurion International Airport and other

various major Israeli cities would have been threatened by these Katyusha rockets if they had reached

Gaza. The shipment also included rubber boats and diving equipment which could have facilitated

seaborne attacks from Gaza against the coastal cities. The Karine A Affair, also known as Operation

Noah's Ark was an Israeli military action in January 2002 in which Israeli forces seized the ship Karine A,

a Palestinian freighter in the Red Sea. The vessel was found to be carrying 50 tons of weapons, including

short-range Katyusha rockets, antitank missiles, and high explosives. (52) The Francop Affair was a high

seas incident on November 4, 2009 in which the Israeli Navy seized the MV Francop cargo ship in the

eastern Mediterranean Sea and its cargo of hundreds of tons of weapons bound from Iran. More than

3,000 medium-range 107- and 122-millimeter rockets, armor-piercing artillery, hand grenades and

ammunition for Kalashnikov rifles were smuggled aboard the ship, hidden in 36 containers.(53) These

are some of the most infamous of dozens of Tehran’s connections with naval arms smuggling that has

come to light, how many have not ?

We also must further understand and unravel Israel’s dilemma in dealing with the Iranian backed

Hamas. Tehran not only ships weapons and military hardware by sea but also by land. Much of it makes

its way to Egypt where it is smuggled underground through tunnels.

Operation Castlead was the acquiesce and failure of Washington, along with the International

Community. On Saturday, December 27, 2008, after eight years of over 9,000 rockets, mortars, and

continuous rocket attacks on its territory by Hamas from Gaza, Israel launched a full-scale military

operation against the Hamas regime in the Gaza Strip. For these eight long years, Washington and the

International community did little next to nothing to stop these rocket barrages. While Arab Palestinian

attacks from Gaza clearly violated many provisions of International law, the attacks have drawn little

more than pro forma objections from international observers (54). Once again Israel stood alone, once

again Israel had to respond. A large part of Israel’s current Gaza strategy is trying to prevent this from

17

happening

again. And

the only

way Israel

can do this

is by

controlling

what goes

in and out

of Gaza. Yes

there are

also strict

controlled

imports

into Gaza

which has

been eased

recently,

however

these are to

prevent

dual use

items such

as cement,

and

fertilizers’

which can

be used in

bomb

production

and bunker

building.

These are

also used to

put

pressure on

Hamas to

reduce its

sending on weapons and force them into taking care of the Arab Palestinians. It is also a means to try to

force the Hamas into releasing a captured IDF Soldier Gilad Shalit, which it has held without any

visitation for five years. (55) It is also worth noting Hamas has a standing bounty on any kidnapped IDF

soldier, 1.4 million dollars. (56)

18

From, Iranian Support of Hamas, The Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center

“Iran’s aid to Hamas during the two years which preceded Operation Cast Lead were the following

weapons , including hundreds of 122mm Grad rockets, with ranges of 20-40 km, ( 12.4 – 24. 8 miles )and

advanced anti-tank missiles; technological knowhow which made it possible for Hamas to manufacture

lethal Hezbollah-inspired IEDs ( Shawaz projectiles); advanced training in Iran for hundreds of operatives

from all the terrorist organizations; several hundred million dollars a year for Hamas's political and

military wings; political and propaganda support ; as well as efforts to prevent the lull arrangement, to

encourage terrorist attacks, and to oppose Israeli-Palestinian negotiations (the Annapolis process).” (57)

So what is the issue of the Freedom Flotilla , Marmara Incident ? Well we now understand why Israel has

conducted searches and seizures of boats, why there is a critical need to provide security checks in and

around Gaza. We have also seen that Israel has been conducting such Naval security operations without

tragic events such as the Marmara Incident . However let’s look at a few more necessary facts .

After the December 2008-January 2009 Israeli war on Gaza, the Israeli Defense Forces began enforcing a

naval blockade of Gaza for 20 nautical miles. The justifying legal grounds for Israel’s actions in Gaza's

territorial waters, is the Gaza-Jericho agreement of May, 1994. Under the agreement between the

Palestinian National Authority and Israel, part of the Oslo Accords, Israel reserved the right to patrol 20

nautical miles of those waters "without limitations" and take "any measures necessary against vessels

suspected of being used for terrorist activities... or for any other illegal activity." (58)

Documented In The Gaza-Jericho Agreement (May 4, 1994), The Sea Off The Coast Of The Gaza Strip Is

Governed By A Series Of Maritime Activity Zones (MAZ).

Implemented to thwart seaborne terrorist infiltration and smuggling efforts, the MAZ are composed of

three Maritime Activity Zones labeled K, L and M. The two outer zones (K, M) are sterile security zones

that extend 20 nautical miles off the coast of the Gaza Strip. Zone K extends in the sea from the coast in

the northern part of the sea of Gaza and 1.5 nautical miles wide southwards, while Zone M extends in

the sea from the coast and one nautical mile wide from the Egyptian waters.

The area in between running the length of the Gaza coast is referred to as Zone L. Both Maritime Activity

Zones “K” and “M” are for the exclusive use of the Israeli Navy while MAZ L remains open for Palestinian

fishing, recreation, and economic activities. As documented in Article XI of the Gaza-Jericho Agreement,

several restrictions are enforced within Zone L (prior to the withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza in

2005). (59)

Some of the over looked issues of Gaza , take for example On November 23, 2002, two Arab Palestinian

terrorists from the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) attempted the first maritime suicide attack on an Israeli

Naval vessel, on March 25, 2004, Hamas launched a maritime infiltration attempt at Tel Katifa at the

northern end of the Gush Katif settlement block. These are not isolated incidents these are ongoing,

sometimes several times a day and continuous in nature.

19

Gaza – Maritime Suicide Operations

Historically, Israel’s main experience with maritime terrorism came in the 1970’s. Three out of the four

major terrorist attacks in Israel in the 1970’s were maritime infiltration attacks. Israel, as a maritime

nation, developed in the 1970s what today has become one of the best coastal defenses worldwide.

(60)

But Was There Excessive Deadly Force Used By IDF Naval Forces On The Gaza Flotilla?

As we have seen there has been no evidence for excessive deadly force in past IDF Naval operations, so

what happened? To understand what occurred we must understand who and what composed this

freedom flotilla. Now I have over a decade of law enforcement experience, including four years with a

U.S. Army Res. Military Police. There are levels of force which are pretty much universal. Generally first

is just the Officers presence, next is the Officer’s verbal

direction(s) , then you move into levels of physical force to

deadly force.

The first two levels of force are pretty much evident in the

incident when the Israeli vessels showed up , they gave

verbal warnings and directions to the six boat freedom

flotilla. IDF Naval also reassured that all of their

humanitarian aid would be delivered to the Gaza strip after

inspection and unloading at an Israeli port of Ashdod (61).

Of the six boats, five boats complied, the sixth one, the

Marmara refused to do so (62). We must ask why it did not

and ask why it was so imperative that they would challenge

the IDF Naval Forces.

Largely overlooked the Marmara carried no humanitarian supplies what so ever, just some 600

passengers. (63). IDF Naval Forces repelled from a hovering helicopter, their so called deadly weapon

they were armed with was paint ball guns, (64) where upon they were immediately attacked.

Pre-positioned fighters armed with knives, metal rods, clubs, firebombs and firearms attacked them.

The plain video evidence (65) shows that Israeli soldiers were ambushed, clubbed, stabbed, and thrown

overboard. There is no evidence of Israeli use of live ammunition until after this occurred. Israeli

soldiers suffered serious wounds, including gunshot and stab wounds and at least one soldier, who was

flung 30 feet from an upper deck to a lower deck, suffered a severe concussion. Israeli soldiers opened

fire because they legitimately feared for their lives from the shipboard fighters who were prepared for

battle. The Commandos did carry side arms, 9mm pistols which they were forced to use, others had

them taken from them.

We must fully acknowledge, under International Law, Israel had every right to act in its own defense,

including intercepting ships in international waters. Israel had warned the Marmara repeatedly not to

try to land in Gaza, but the Marmara leaders chose to ignore the warnings.

20

From San Remo Manual on International Law Applicable to Armed Conflicts at Sea, “Merchant vessels

flying the flag of neutral States may not be attacked unless they: (a) are believed on reasonable grounds

to be carrying contraband or breaching a blockade, and after prior warning they intentionally and clearly

refuse to stop, or intentionally and clearly resist visit, search or capture.(66)”

From the San Remo Manual on International Law Applicable to Armed Conflicts at Sea, “A blockade may be imposed at sea, including in International Waters, so long as it does not bar access to the ports and coasts of neutral states,”. (67)

We must investigate, look closer to the Turkish Ship the Mavi Marmara, the tool of the IHH (the

Foundation for Human Rights, Liberties, and Humanitarian Relief) and the Free Gaza Movement. Once

again we must venture into the maddening labyrinth and connect the hidden dots. While many of the

flotilla passengers participated in what they most likely considered to be a peaceful, humanitarian effort

to aid Arab Palestinian Gazans, however some of the flotilla organizers and passengers had a different

and non-peaceful agenda. They were willing to create a violent situation, with little regard putting the

lives of the other passengers and the other five boats at risk.

Who Are the Free Gaza Movement ?: The FGM is a major organizer of the flotilla. It was co-founded by

Bay Area activist Paul Larudee, recruited through the anti-Israel International Solidarity Movement. (68)

IHH is a part of the Union of Good, a collection of charities run by Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood . The

U.S. Treasury Department labeled the UG as a terrorist organization because it “facilitates the transfer

of tens of millions of dollars a year to Hamas-managed associations in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.”

The Union of Good was designated under Executive Order

13224, which targets terrorists, terrorist organizations, and

those providing financial, technological, or material support to

terrorists, terrorist organizations, or acts of terrorism. Any

assets the Union of Good holds under U.S. jurisdiction were

frozen and U.S.persons are prohibited from engaging in any

transactions with the Union of Good. (69)

The Union of Good acts as a broker for Hamas by facilitating

financial transfers between a spiders web of charitable

organizations, including several organizations previously designated under E.O. 13224 for providing

support to Hamas and Hamas controlled organizations in the West Bank and Gaza. The primary purpose

of this activity is to strengthen Hamas' political and military position in the West Bank and Gaza, by

diverting charitable donations to support Hamas members and the families of terrorist operatives; and

dispensing social welfare and other charitable services on behalf of Hamas.(70)

While the IHH provides relief compatible with its official status, including supplying food and medicines

to orphans and conflict zones, and investing in education, the IHH is anti-Western and anti-American.

(71) According to Henri Barkey of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, the IHH is an

“Islamist organization as it has been deeply involved with Hamas for some time. ( 72)

21

During the U.S. Seattle trial of the Millennium bomber Ahmed Ressam, Federal Prosecutors called

French Counterterrorism Magistrate Jean-Louis Bruguiere to the stand as an expert witness. Bruguiere

testified that IHH had played “an important role” in the Al Qaeda Millennium bomb plot targeting LAX.

Under in-depth and repeated questioning, Bruguiere insisted that “there was rather a close relation”

between IHH and Al Qaeda. He also testified, "The IHH is an NGO, but this a type of cover-up… in order

to obtain forged documents and also to obtain different forms of infiltration for Mujahedeen in combat.

And also to go and gather recruit these Mujahideens.” (73)

According to Counterterrorism Magistrate Jean-Louis Bruguiere, the terrorist infiltration of IHH

extended to its most senior ranks. He revealed that IHH President Bulent Yildrim had directly conspired

in the mid-1990s to “recruit veteran soldiers in anticipation of the coming Jihad Holy War . In particular,

some men were sent into war zones in Muslim countries in order to acquire combat experience.”

Furthermore, in the hopes of “obtaining political support from these countries, financial aid was

transferred on behalf of IHH, as well as caches of firearms, knives, and pre-fabricated explosives.”

Evan F. Kohlmann is an international terrorism consultant with more than seven years of experience

tracking and analyzing Al-Qaida and other 21st century global terrorist movements. He has lectured and

given briefings on transnational terrorist threats to a diverse collection of academic, law enforcement

and intelligence bodies; including the US. Department of Justice, the Federal Bureau of Investigation

(FBI), the National Security Council (NSC), the department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Internal

Revenue Service (IRS) (74)

From A Detailed Study “The Role of Islamic Charities in International Terrorist Recruitment and

Financing, by Evan F. Kohlmann ,he reported:

In a 1997 Turkish authorities began their own domestic criminal investigation of the IHH when sources

revealed that leaders of IHH were purchasing automatic weapons from other regional Islamic militant

groups. IHH’s bureau in Istanbul was searched, and its local officers were arrested. Turkish Security

forces uncovered an array of disturbing items, including firearms, explosives, bomb-making instructions,

and a “Jihad flag.” After analyzing seized IHH documents, Turkish authorities in 1997 concluded that

“detained members of IHH were going to fight in Afghanistan, Bosnia, and Chechnya.” (75)

Abstract :

“The roots of the contemporary radicalization and support to terrorism can be traced back two decades to the organizational lessons of the Soviet-Afghan war. At the time a number of sympathetic NGOs provided various kind of assistance which proved to be invaluable in the long-term struggle. By clothing their militant activity with charitable ideals, radical militants discovered that they were able to maintain their level of efficiency while working with very few restrictions on an international level. The practice of radical and militant involvement with NGOs and charitable organizations continues today, and an understanding of the linkages between radicalization and the NGO community is necessary when considering development interventions.” (76) According to this Danish report, IHH was later involved in supplying arms to Sunni terrorists in Iraq. They have developed close relations with Hamas and Hezbollah. Is it any wonder that Israel would not allow an organization that smuggles arms to Al Qaeda to send an uninspected cargo of "humanitarian aid" to Gaza?

22

The Humanitarian Relief Foundation has emerged as one of the more important players in the Mid-East.

The IHH has certainly become most influential in Turkey. Not even being an elected body, nor an

officially appointed foreign policy arm of any elected government, it has managed to rupture the long

standing Turkish-Israeli relationship. Turkey is suspending all Israeli military aircraft flights from its air

space and calling for International sanctions on Israel. (77) The IHH has become a pronounced. It has

influenced the upcoming Turkish elections in a way that will likely change the course of Turkish history

and that of the region.

President Obama has described the situation in Gaza as unsustainable (78) and has made clear that he

demands fundamental change, however not from the U.S. designated terrorist Iranian backed

organization Hamas , but Israel! "On June 9, Obama announced the U.S. was moving forward with $400

million in initiatives and commitments for the West Bank and Gaza. (80) There is no mention of the

Hamas abandoning terrorism or accepting Israel's existence, releasing captured IDF soldier Gilad Shalit,

nor returning to the recognition of the Palestinian Authority's rule as the legitimate government.

Obama’s statement is unconditional, absolutely unconditional, in fact he is no less stabilizing the Hamas,

an Iranian military proxy, dedicated to the genocide of the Jewish people.

"On May 31, the same day as the Mavi Marmara Incident , In Lahor, Pakistan, gunmen stormed into a

hospital, where they shot and killed 12 badly wounded patients. Those victims were survivors of

murderous attacks on two mosques a few days earlier, when 93 worshipers were killed . Navi Pillay, the

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, said almost nothing about the dead Pakistanis, but did

manage to declaim: 'I unequivocally condemn what appears to be disproportionate use of force,

resulting in the killing and wounding of so many people attempting to bring much needed aid to the

people of Gaza' (81)

The week before the aid-flotilla incident, international discussions centered on North Korean submarine which attacked a South Korean naval vessel in South Korea waters . A torpedo sank the ship, killing 46 sailors. The UN Security Council was to begin discussion of possible action against North Korean, however Council members made it clear they were going to drop the North Korea matter and take a resolution condemning Israel.(82) Activists from at least twelve European nations were on the flotilla, so EU parliament members have a vested interest in calming tensions, the EU has been debating what to do about the flotilla crisis. A strategy presented is to use European monitoring forces at sea in an effort to investigate cargo ships before they come into the area of the Gaza sea port. However Israel is opposed to this effort pointing out and as we have seen, international naval monitoring forces did not prevent the smuggling of arms to Hezbollah after the Second Lebanon War in 2006. So why should Israel now trust the effectiveness of such forces to inspect cargo ships in Cyprus or anywhere else before reaching Gaza? (83) With heart breaking testimony that shook and sickened America , U.S. Army Col. (Ret.) Ann Wright,

stated “"I witnessed the Israeli attack that killed nine persons and wounded 50 on the Gaza flotilla,"

However later it was learned she was not even on the Mavi Marmara, and she even admitted it ! (84)

Later it was learned she is part of the radical pacifist women's group Code Pink. (85)

23

A real eye witness to the incident the Captain of the Marmara" testified how the "peace activists"

prepared to use violence with the soldiers enforcing the blockade. He claimed, "I tried to stop the

preparations for violence, but with no success. I ordered the employees of the ship to collect all the iron

rods (sticks)". The Captain, Muhamet Toobel, said the preparations to confront the IDF soldiers started

two hours before the first soldier came on board. Yet his testimony can hardly be found in the

International News media, it is absent from America’s news giants such as, The New York Times, Time

Magazine , and many more. (86)

In another example of what is no less than criminal in nature, International news giant Reuters, used

photos which had been “photo edited”, edited out knives in the hands of the activists, and blood traces

from pictures taken aboard the ship Mavi Marmara during the clash with Israeli commandos. (87)

There are these examples and more disinformation, outright lies that is being carried in the news media.

I challenge the reader to go through current news stories and try to find the ones that even list the

injured IDF Commandos, which are neglectfully omitted from our trusted news.

This causes a firestorm, it disorientates and criminally misleads U.S. and International opinions. It builds

a wall of disinformation which only lays the foundation for further military clashes, between the Hamas ,

Israel and only deeps the suffering of the average Arab Palestinian.

24

From, The Privileged Slander, by Professor Barry Rubin

“Israel is subject daily to scores of false claims and slanders that receive a remarkable amount of

credibility in Western media, academic, and intellectual circles even when no proof is offered.

Palestinian groups (including the Gaza and Palestinian Authority regimes),

associated local and allied foreign non-government organizations, Western

radical and anti-Israel groups, and politically committed journalists are

eager to act as propaganda agents making up false stories or transmitting

them without serious thought or checking.

Others have simply defined the Palestinians as the “victims” and “underdogs” while Israel is the “villain”

and “oppressor.” Yet truth remains truth; academic and journalist standards are supposed to apply.

While regular journalists may ask for an official Israeli reaction to such stories the undermanned

government agencies are deluged by hundreds of these stories, and committed to checking out seriously

each one. Thus, the Israeli government cannot keep up with the flow of lies. So the key question is to

understand the deliberateness of this anti-Israel propaganda and evaluating the credibility of the

sources.

An important aspect of this is to understand that Israel is a decent, democratic country with a free media

that is energetic about exploring any alleged wrongdoing and a fair court system that does the same. To

demonize Israel into a monstrous, murderous state—which is often done—makes people believe any

negative story,”. (88)

In an effort to avert another Israel-Hamas war, and to stop the missiles from being manufactured and

used against Israel, Israel has been forced to try to keep the materials used for that purpose out of the

Gaza Strip. This is a humane step needed to prevent the kind of war that caused so much destruction in

2008. Rocket attacks by Hamas and its allies against Israeli civilians’ antecedences eventually triggers an

Israeli response to stop them. There can be no real doubt that Israel is entitled to keep weapons of war

from being used against it.

Israel has repeatedly made clear to those who organized the effort to break the embargo that it would

willingly take all of the humanitarian aid that was on their boats and transfer it to Gaza, without delay.

All that Israel wanted was to be able to ensure that materials were, in fact, humanitarian aid, rather

than the sorts of materials used for launching attacks that are supplied to Hamas by the Iranians and

others. Does not Israel regularly provide humanitarian aid to Gaza ?

Clearly the issue of a humanitarian crisis in Gaza is a distorted mingled cry , an epic and successful propaganda ploy. In truth anytime there are civilian deaths in a military action hind sight is always 20-20 and we will always find reasons why this should not have occurred. However the Freedom Flotilla set out to spark an International Incident , the humanitarian aid was not more than a decoy, a dark camouflage of militant Islam’s goal at destroying, breeching Israel’s Naval wall. Once this wall is removed a tidal wave of weapons will follow from Tehran as had for the Hezbollah in Lebanon. However

25

we must delve deeper into the Islamic Republic of Iran. The I.R.I. on a regular bases threatens to wipe Israel off the map , this is no idle threat as they are conducting a covert war, a war against Israel. We must fully comprehend the unperceived danger from Iran.

CMIP –Center for Monitoring the Impact of Peace

Founded in 1998, CMIP examines the content of school textbooks used in the Mid-East. This is in order

to determine whether children are being taught to accept and recognize the rights of “others” to exist.

CMIP believes that education should be used to encourage an attitude of tolerance, pluralism and to

promote peaceful means of solving conflicts. CMIP is a non-profit, non-political organization. They are

breaking new ground in understanding of incitement, and are pioneers in the field of text book analysis.

Dr Arnon Groiss is CMIP’s Director Of Research: A Princeton- and Harvard-educated journalist who has

also written critical studies of the Israeli, Palestinian, Syrian, Saudi and Egyptian education systems.

Beginning in January 2007, CMIP directors Dr Groiss and Dr. Yohanan presented an independent study

of 115 textbooks and teachers guides of Iran. A presentation tour was given throughout Europe and at

the prestigious Transatlantic Institute in Brussels. "Hate Indoctrination Is A Professed Goal Of Iranian

Textbooks," The Iranian education system is preparing its students for a global war against the West, in

the name of Islam, describing Iran's school system as a "Global War Curriculum". Catalogs show how

pupils as young as nine are conditioned to take part in a global Jihad against such "infidel oppressors" as

Israel and the United States.

Dr Groiss stated there is an Iranian emphasis on military training from such a young age that it has

instilled a "siege mentality" among many students. "It is a form of child abuse to install such notions in

children's minds.”

This ground breaking new study of 115 Iranian school textbooks concludes and substantiates that

Tehran is preparing its children for war, and is willing to risk massive casualties for the opportunity to

defeat America in a world-wide cataclysmic confrontation. (89)

26

Follow in the footsteps of the late Ayatollah Khomeini,

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahamadinjad began recruiting Iranian People for

suicide bombers and praising the merits of Islamic terrorism a month after he was

sworn in. The President has launched a group of suicide bombers under the name

of ‘Lovers of Martyrdom.’

Also known more formally as Setad Pasdasht Shohadaye Nehzat Jahani Islam (Headquarters for the

Commemoration of the Martyrs of the International Islamic Movement). The organization’s goal: to

recruit and train men and women for suicide operations.

The application for membership alerts potential recruits that they will join the "Martyrdom Division" in

every Iranian province. About 52,000 people have reportedly joined the group. Muhammad Ali Samadi,

a spokesman for the group, has said that "“Israel is a target of the group along with the U.S. and

European Union countries where the group has also allegedly recruited militants.(90)

Unclassified Report on Military Power of Iran U.S. Congress April 2010 “Iran provides Lebanese Hezbollah and Palestinian terrorist groups - notably, HAMAS, Palestinian Islamic

Jihad, and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLPGC) - with funding, weapons, and

training to oppose Israel and disrupt the Middle East Peace Process. The IRGC-QF (Iranian Revolutionary

Guard - Qods Force) is Iran's primary vehicle for providing this materiel and lethal”. (91)

We also need to understand and come to terms Tehran has been at war with America in Iraq and now

Afghanistan. Iran began to extend its influence in Iraq immediately after the fall of Saddam Hussein's

regime in April 2003. For Iraqi militant operations, Tehran created its Ramazan Corps.

The Ramazan Corps were a branch of the Qods Force, Iran's external wing of the Revolutionary Guards

Corps, Iran immediately moved money, weapons, and operatives inside Iraq to influence the various

fractured Shia political parties and militias.

In was in 2006 when U.S. forces began heavily targeting the Iranian networks the depth of Qods

Force's command structure and operations in Iraq was uncovered. Top high-level Iranian Qods Force

officers were captured, – Qais Qazali, Azhar al Dulaimi, Ali Mussa Daqduq, and Mahmud Farhadi. Critical

information about the structure of the Ramazan Corps comes from the Iranian operatives captured in

Iraq. Qais Qazali was the leader of the Qazali Network, which was responsible for several high-profile

attacks on U.S. and Iraqi forces.

Multinational Forces in Iraq learned that Iran set up the Ramazan Corps as a sophisticated command

structure to coordinate military, intelligence, terrorist, diplomatic, religious, ideological, propaganda,

and economic operations. (92)

27

Unclassified Report On Military Power Of Iran U.S. Congress, April 2010

“Iran continues to provide money, weapons and training to select Iraqi Shia militants and Terrorists despite pledges by senior Iranian officials to stop such support. The weapons include: • Explosively Formed Penetrators (EFPs) with radio-controlled, remote arming and passive infrared detonators • Improvised Explosive Devices (lED) • Anti -aircraft weapons • mortars • 107 and 122 millimeter rockets • rocket-propelled grenades and launchers • explosives Iran also offers strategic and operational guidance to militias and terrorist groups to target U.S. Forces in

Iraq and undermine U.S. interests. In addition to providing arms and support, IRGC-QF is responsible for

training Iraqi insurgents in Iran, sometimes using Lebanese Hezbollah instructors. Lebanese Hizballah

provides insurgents with the training, tactics and technology to conduct kidnappings, small unit tactical

operations and employ sophisticated IEDs.

28

In addition to weapons and support, Iran continues training Shia militants in the use of IEDs, EFPs, and

the counter-measures designed to defeat these weapons and the networks that design, build, emplace

and fund them draw persistent counter-responses. The flow of new lED technologies and highly creative

emplacement and employment methods underscore the enemy's ability to adapt and react quickly and

efficiently to CF countermeasures.” (93)

The first significant report of Iranian weapons in Afghanistan came in 2007 from a press conference with then-chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Peter Pace . Pace announced: “We have intercepted weapons in Afghanistan headed for the Taliban that were made in Iran,” he also stated “We know that there are munitions that were made in Iran that are in Iraq and in Afghanistan. And we know that the Qods Force works for the IRGC Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps,.”(94) There is much more detailed information on Tehran’s involvement in Iraq and Afghanistan, however it is beyond the scope of this report. Turkey once Israel’s largest trading partner , an ally , and NATO member has now shifted to Iran (95) . Hamas is not a terrorist organization, it is a resistance movement, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has declared. PM Erdogan has also warned Israel it would not allow another Operation Cast- Lead .(96)

The Al Fakhoora

Documents filed with the Department of Justice describe Al Fakhoora as a "student-led campaign to

protect education from violence during war or conflicts, specifically in Gaza, and to lead an international

public opinion awareness campaign about Gaza. An American communications firm Fenton

Communication’s , best known for shaping the liberal Moveon.org into a national movement is now the

tip of the spear for the Al Fakhoora Project This is no less an international anti-Israel campaign aimed

at breaking the blockade of the Gaza strip. Fenton Communications, which has offices in Washington,

D.C., New York, and San Francisco, signed two contracts worth more than $360,000 last year with

Qatar to develop "a communications action plan for an 18-month campaign" . This also includes a full-

scale fundraising effort aimed at generating a war chest of up to $100 million in addition to the money

the Qatari sheikha provided. This media blitz creed is aimed at delegitimizing Israel and generating

international support for the Hamas-run Gaza strip, documents filed with the Department of Justice

show.

The overall stratagem • Train a spokesman for the group and provide "leadership development

curriculum for student leaders"

• Conduct "spokesperson training sessions" for student leaders

• Monitor social networking and mainstream media outlets and blogs

• Develop press materials and "pitch stories to university and mainstream press"

• Train students how to research, compose, and produce propaganda clips

• Conduct outreach "to potential political partners in the United States" (97)

This is only a small part of an International movement, its establishing a propaganda beachhead aimed

at the hearts and minds of Americans. Too few realize this is being financed not only by Arab counties

such as Qatar but other dark entities , not only at war with Israel but America as well. (98)

29

So what are we seeing

here , ? If Israel lifts its

security zone and Naval

block-aid of Gaza , Iran

will arm the Hamas the

same as it has with

Hezbollah. Contrary to

current beliefs the

missiles and mortars

have not ceased from

Gaza, they have only

slowed down, some 400

rockets and mortars

have been fired from Gaza into Israeli communities since 2008 and are once again increasing, as this

game of Hamas roulette continues. (99) With a lifted Naval block-aid Hamas will rearm with more deadly

missiles which will start falling in Israeli communities. More freedom Flotillas are planned to be

launched from Turkey, Iran, Lebanon and elsewhere aimed once again at Israel’s protective Naval block-

aid of Gaza. (100) This situation is clearly explosive and could easily ignite a major war in the Mid-East.

The tiny state of Israel with a few million people is walking a knife edge here.

The Foundation for Human Rights and Freedom and Humanitarian Relief was established in Turkey in

1992 by a member of the Turkish Refah Party. IHH overtly supports Hamas, al Qaeda, and maintained

regular contact with Iraqi al Qaeda cells and the Sunni insurgency during the bloodiest stretches of the

Iraq War. IHH has supported Jihadist terror networks not only in Iraq, but also in Bosnia, Syria,

Afghanistan, and Chechnya. (101)

Israel’s Naval Blockade and Related activities are a Common International Accepted Practice.

UN itself instituted a blockade of Iraq after Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait in 1990, adopting Security

Council Resolution 665, which called on all UN Member States “to halt all inward and outward maritime

shipping in order to inspect and verify cargos.” The UN wanted to prevent the importing of weapons

into Iraq and the export of Iraqi oil. During the Bosnian war, there was an arms embargo on Yugoslavia,

and as a result NATO established a naval blockade between 1992 and 1996 of its Adriatic coastline.

During those years, NATO ships boarded and inspected 6,000 ships and diverted 1,500 other vessels.

Ships were halted and inspected before entering the territorial waters of Yugoslavia.

Naval blockades have continued since then. Sierra Leone was blockaded by West African countries.

Saudi Arabia declared that it was placing a naval blockade on the Red Sea Coast of Yemen in November

2009, in order to block Iranian re-supply of the Shiite rebellion in the northern part of Yemen. In the

previous month, Yemen announced it had seized an Iranian ship named the Mahan-1 loaded with anti-

tank weapons for the Yemeni Shiites. (102)

30

The IHH a is part of the Union of Good, a collection of charities run by Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood

Shockingly revealing the IHH, and how militant terrorism is not only shaping U.S. foreign policy but

Europe and even more so the United Nations. Humanitarian masked militant Islam is snaking its way

through and changing the political climate in the Middle East, influencing American and European

public opinion by trapping Israel in a diplomatic quagmire. It distracts from major issues such as

stopping Iran's nuclear capabilities and trying to weaken Iran's goal of regional hegemony. The IHH was

owner and operator of three of the six flotilla ships involved in the incident, including the Mavi

Marmara, which served as the flagship of the convoy. As you can see even the length of this report does

not do justice to this issue. This report could easily be a book. But by standing back, taking a panoramic

view, the hard evidence ,we are able to connect the dots, we see the links from Iran’s Ayatollah

Khomeini, to Hezbollah, the Arab Palestinians, Al Qaeda , the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood and more.

These elusive lose, fragmented but ever strengthening ties. Tehran is not only at war with Israel but

against what it calls a dark hideous creature, most hated by God , “the Great Satan “ . This Great Satan

according to Iran is , “America “ . (103)

During the April 2001 trial of would-be "millennium bomber" Ahmed Ressam, it was revealed that IHH

had played an “important role” in the plot to blow up Los Angeles International Airport on December 31,

1999. (104)

Testimony Of Ambassador Jeffrey D. Feltman Assistant Secretary Of State For Near Eastern Affairs, 2010 “Hizballah’s (AKA spelled as Hezbollah) persistence as a well-armed terrorist group within Lebanon, as well as its robust relationships with Iran and Syria, and the transfer of increasingly sophisticated missiles and rockets to Hizballah, threaten the interests of the United States, Lebanon, and our partners in the region, especially Israel. Our ongoing efforts to counter those threats include cutting off terrorism financing and interdicting illicit arms shipments, as well as bilateral and multilateral diplomatic efforts aimed at ending those arms transfers and supporting the legitimate Government of Lebanon. We have warned Syria directly about the potential consequences of these destabilizing actions. Most importantly, we are working to achieve a comprehensive peace in the region, centered on a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. To be successful, this comprehensive peace needs to include a solution to the problem of Hizballah's weapons and hostility. A comprehensive peace by definition must also include Lebanon and Syria as full partners,” (105)

31

In response to Feltman's statements at the subcommittee hearing, Hezbollah launched a furious verbal,

media attacks against his Congressional testimony and gave a warning against any Lebanese who that

had accepted American aid. Calling America the Great Satan an enemy, the Hezbollah threatened to

sue any Lebanese who collaboration with this enemy. The Hezbollah is suing the U.S. Administration

itself for endangering Lebanese national unity by instigating strife in the country. On June 30, 2010, it

was reported that attorney May Al-Khansa, who is identified with the Lebanese opposition headed by

Hezbollah, had filed a private lawsuit against Feltman for "establishing a terrorist association aimed at

changing Lebanon's social makeup, and for financing terrorism and exacerbating sectarian and racist

extremism."(106)

In June of 2010, thousands of Arab Palestinians marched , some

6,000, these long-suffering Arab Palestinians face armed soldiers at

the gate if they try to leave their camps. They are frozen out of

public medical and social services. They are barred from dignified

work in dozens of occupations such as engineering, medicine, law

and journalism. They cannot own property. Their children are

banned from regular schools. Where is this? These Arab

Palestinians marched on the Lebanese parliament l to protest their discriminatory treatment — not at

the hands of Israel, but by Lebanon itself. Why didn’t this make major headlines?

For the record, Israel, grants full citizenship, legal and language rights to Arabs (including gay Arabs)

within its borders — notwithstanding attempts to conflate Israel proper with the West Bank and Gaza

when using the apartheid label. On a regular base Arab Palestinians travel into Israel and are given

medical treatment. (107)

Why Do They Say There is No Tehran –Al Qaeda Connection? “I have no idea,”.

Enter the Egyptian Islamic Jihad

Egyptian Islamic Jihad (EIJ), a militant Islamist group which emerged in the

1970s, changed its focus in 2001. Originally bent on installing a religious

government in Egypt, the group joined forces with Osama bin Laden's al-

Qaeda network that year and broadened its aims. Largely absorbed into al-

Qaeda, EIJ opposes Western influence in the Muslim world, including Arab

governments aligned with Washington, rails against secularism generally,

and regularly denounces Israel, the United States, and governments supporting either. According to

the 2007 State Department Country Reports on Terrorism, EIJ has been active worldwide "for several

years under the auspices" of al-Qaeda. EIJ is thought to be involved with most of the terrorist attacks on

the United States in the last two decades, and its operatives played a key role in both attacks on the

World Trade Center. (108) Dr. Ayman Muhammad al-Zawahiri is a prominent leader of al-Qaeda, and

was the second and last "emir" of Egyptian Islamic Jihad, having succeeded Abbud al-Zummar in the

latter role when Egyptian authorities sentenced al-Zummar to life imprisonment. (109)

32

Tehran’s Qod’s Force and Al Qaeda Link - Egyptian Islamic Jihad

Iran's relationship with Al Qaeda is strongest through the Egyptian Islamic Jihad

(EIJ). Throughout the 1990s, the leader of the EIJ, Ayman al Zawahiri, was a

frequent guest of Ali Fallahian, Iran's then-Minister of Intelligence, and Ahmad

Vahidi, the then-head of the Qods Force, a Special Operations Unit active abroad.

Since February of 1998, when the EIJ joined forces with Al Qaeda to form the

"World Islamic Front for Jihad against Jews and Crusaders," al-Zawahiri, bin Laden's

right-hand man and chief of ideology. (110)

Iran’s Ministry of Intelligence and Security Ministry of Intelligence and Security (MOIS)

Vezarat-e Ettela'at va Amniat-e Keshvar (VEVAK)

Iran’s Ministry of Intelligence and Security (MOIS) is one of the most secretive agencies in the world and

is ranked by experts as one of the largest and most active intelligence agencies in the Middle East,

having masterminded 450 acts of terrorism throughout the world since the 1980s, yet it has been

shrouded in so much mystery that apart from the occasional revelations by the Iranian Resistance, little

has ever been made public about its operations and functions. Its secret budget and unchecked power

have turned it into one of the key pillars of the Iranian theocracy. (111.)

It is interesting to note as the World set afire with the Gaza Freedom Flotilla incident on May 31,2010 , the Arab Palestinian Hamas, Iran , Turkey and so many others mourned the painful and unspeakable Humanitarian crisis , The President of the U.S. Obama bemoaning the Gaza tragedy , Hamas official stated there would be coming eight more ships to break the insufferable Israeli Naval block-aid on Gaza , but only after , “the World Soccer Cup,”. (108) I guess there are important priorities.

33

In closing I want to leave you with the words of

Professor Barry Rubin, Director of the Global Research in International Affairs (GLORIA) Center and

editor of the Middle East Review of International Affairs (MERIA), writer- publisher Mid-East News letter

, Rubin Report.

“By coincidence, I revisited the terrorism museum in Israel. There were some new features, including the

cigarette lighter made in China and sold on the West Bank that shows the World Trade Center on fire

when clicked. There is massive documentation on the involvement of Hamas and Hizballah in terrorism,

anti-Semitism, anti-American views, and would-be genocide. One can see videos of kids in the Hamas

schools carrying out military exercises. Watch this and then ask whether Hamas is intending to produce a

generation of moderates.

Revolutionary Islamism and terrorism, hatred for the United States and the desire to wipe out Israel (and

Jews generally) are not some minor side issues for these groups but are absolutely central to their

existence. It is amazing to think of these naïve people who think they are going to talk revolutionary

Islamists into being moderates, or buy them off with money (there's that idea of prosperity solving all

problems again) or concessions.,”(109)

34

FOOTNOTES

1.)Israel Navy Commandos: Gaza Flotilla Activists Tried To Lynch Us , Latest update 19:26 31.05.10 http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/israel-navy-commandos-gaza-flotilla-activists-tried-to-lynch-us-1.293089 2.)Source: Http://En.Wikipedia.Org/Wiki/Media_Coverage_Of_The_Israeli-Palestinian_Conflict 3.)Israel Begins Forced Removal of Jewish Settlers From Gaza as Deadline Expires Aug. 17, 2005 4.)http://www.democracynow.org/2005/8/17/israel_begins_forced_removal_of_jewish 5.)Erdogan: Hamas not a terrorist group By Jpost.Com Staff 06/04/2010 Turkish PM Slams Israel For "Slaughtering" 19-Year-Old On Ship. http://www.jpost.com/MiddleEast/Article.aspx?id=177496 5.)A Hamas Primer Able Brains January 5, 2009 http://ablebrains.typepad.com/ablebrains/2009/01/-a-hamas-primer.html 6.) The Mullah-Hamas Axis By: Dr. Rachel Ehrenfeld and Alyssa A. Lappen March 14, 2006 http://97.74.65.51/readArticle.aspx?ARTID=5238 (7)Video Hamas Kill Innocent Palestinian in Gaza Celebrate 911, And Brainwash Children To Be Terrorists 9/11 Outrage In Colorado B y: Steven Plaut Jun 7th, 2010 http://howcanpeoplebesostupid.com/?p=2435 (8) Iran-Hamas Relations: The Growing Threat From A Radical Religious Coalition The Henry Jackson Society p.2 http://www.henryjacksonsociety.org (9) May: Hamas has genocidal intentions Submitted by SHNS on Wed, 06/09/2010 - 12:18 By CLIFFORD D. MAY, Scripps Howard News Service, editorials and opinion http://www.scrippsnews.com/node/54357 (10)Palestinian Media watch Hamas Spokesman: Genocide of Jews remains Hamas goal - March 30, 2007 http://www.pmw.org.il/tv%20part6.html 11.( Council on Foreign Relations, Hamas Backgrounder, updated 8 June 2007, http://www.cfr.org/publication/8968;) (12) Hamas Triumphant Implications for Security, Politics, Economy, and Strategy Robert Satloff, Editor Policy Focus #53 | February 2006 p 10Military and Security Studies Program at The Washington Institute (13)Palestinian suicide bombings 1994-2004:Don't let the world forget London - revised on 2 September 2004 The first Palestinian suicide bombing occurred in April 1994 in the Israeli town of Afula. This took place at the height of the Oslo process, just as Israel was withdrawing from the Gaza Strip. http://www.beyondimages.info/b78.html 14.)The Mullah-Hamas Axis By: Dr. Rachel Ehrenfeld and Alyssa A. Lappen Tuesday, March 14, 2006 http://97.74.65.51/Printable.aspx?ArtId=5238 15.)Hamas Politics, Charity and Terrorism in Service of Jihad Matthew Levitt 2006 Washington Institute for Near East Policy p19 16.) Ibid. 15, p18. 17.)The Sunday Times March 9, 2008 ,Palestinian group Hamas admits that its fighters are trained in Iran http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/middle_east/article3512018.ece 18.) Wurmser, Meyrav, “Iran-Hamas Alliance,” Hudson Institute, Oct. 4, 2007, https://www.hudson.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=publication_details&id=5167; “Iranian Support of Hamas,” Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center, Jan. 12, 2009, p. 20,http://www.terrorism-info.org.il/malam_multimedia/English/eng_n/pdf/iran_e004.pdf 19.) “Senior Hamas operative figure tells London Sunday Times’ Gaza Strip correspondent about Iranian and Syria military aid, detailing the training received by hundreds of Hamas terrorist operatives and describing the transmission to Hamas of Iranian technical know-how for the manufacture of rockets and IED,” The Intelligence and Terrorist Information Center, Mar. 17, 2008, http://www.terrorisminfo.org.il/malam_multimedia/English/eng_n/html/hamas_160308e.htm; Colvin, Marie, “Hamas wages Iran’s proxy war on Israel,” The Times, Mar. 9, 2008, http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/middle_east/article3512014.ece 20.) Wurmser, Meyrav, “Iran-Hamas Alliance,” Hudson Institute, Oct. 4, 2007, https://www.hudson.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=publication_details&id=5167 21.) Cohen, Yoram and Matthew Levitt, “Hamas Arms Smuggling: Egypt’s Challenge,” The Washington Institute for Near East Policy, Policy Watch #34, Mar. 2, 2009, http://www.washingtoninstitute.org/templateC05.php?CID=3020 22.) "Hamas leader praises Iran's help in Gaza 'victory'," CNN, Feb. 1, 2009,http://edition.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/meast/02/01/iran.hamas/index.html 23.) "Hamas chief: Iran turmoil won't affect support," Taiwan News, Aug. 16, 2009, http://www.etaiwannews.com/etn/news_content.php?id=1032777&lang=eng_news 24.)Hamas 2010 budget mainly 'foreign aid' from Iran 5 Jan 2010

http://www.worldtribune.com/worldtribune/WTARC/2010/me_hamas0005_01_05.asp

35

25.)Yasir Arafat A Political Biography Barry Rubin and Judith Colp p83-84 Rubin Oxford University Press, USA (March 3, 2005) 26.)Ayatollah Khomeini in his own words By James Arlandson Jan. 2, 2005 http://www.americanthinker.com/2005/01/ayatollah_khamenei_in_his_own.html 27.)Hezbollah (a.k.a. Hizbollah, Hizbu'llah) Author, CRF.org Staff updated: June 8, 2009 Council on Foreign Relations http://www.cfr.org/publication/9155/hezbollah_aka_hizbollah_hizbullah.html 28.) Ibid. 27, 29) Profiles in Terror: A Guide to Middle East Terrorist Organizations, Mannes , p158-159 JINSA Book 2004. 30 Dissecting the Party of God' November 28, 2007 | 2003 GMT By Fred Burton and Reva Bhalla www.stratfor.com 31.)Leaders Of Palestinian Resistance Groups To Gather In Tehran, 24.02.2010 Heads of Palestinian armed resistance groups will meet in Tehran on Feb. 27-28 with the participation of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahamadinjad, FARS news agency reported. http://en.trend.az/news/arisc/1644371.html 32.) Chronology of Terrorist Attacks in Israel, Introduction compiled by Wm. Robert Johnston last updated 14 March 2010 http://www.johnstonsarchive.net/terrorism/terrisrael.html 33.) Hamas Web School for Suicide Bombers Radical Islam by Yohanan Manor and Ido Mizrahi Middle East Quarterly Spring 2010, pp. 31-40Hamas TV forced to halt broadcasts to Europe, By Ibrahim 33.A)Barzak, Associated Press Writer Jun 15, 2010 Additional reporting by Associated Press writers Diaa Hadid in Ramallah, West Bank and Greg Keller in Paris. http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100615/ap_on_re_mi_ea/ml_palestinians_hamas_tv 34.)Islamic Fundamentalism, The New Global Threat, Mohammad Mohaddessin p.90- 92 Seven Locks Press, 2001, p 35.)"THE MUSLIM BROTHERHOOD IN SUDAN: FROM REFORMS TO RADICALISM" By Prof. Gaby Warburg A Brief History, p.8-10 http://actveng.haifa.ac.il/PDF/article/Muslim_BROTHERS_fin.pdf 35.) A Deadly Love Triangle: Why Iran and Hamas Adore Darfur’s Genocidal Dictator,” Weekly Standard Online. August 6, 2008. http://www.jewishpolicycenter.org/280/a-deadly-love-triangle also: Biography Of Hassan Al Turabi, Human Rights News Http://Www.Hrw.Org/Press/2002/03/Turabi-Bio.Htm 36.) www.terrorismcentral.com/.../US/StateDepartment/CounterterrorismOffice/patterns/1995/MiddleEastOverview.html 36a.) Ibid. 36 37.)Jihad Incorporated by Steven Emerson p 216 – 236, 2006 Prometheus books 38.)Triple Cross , How Bin laden’s Master Spy Penetrated the CIA, the Green Berets, and the FBI Peter Lance , p 482 Regan, an Imprint of Harper Collins Publishers 39.)Gaza plight a crisis with a difference By Edmund Sanders, Los Angeles Times June 13, 2010 40.)Analysis: Is There A Humanitarian Crisis In Gaza? By Dan Izenberg 03/22/2010 http://www.jpost.com/MiddleEast/Article.aspx?id=171509 41.)Behind the Headlines: The Israeli humanitarian lifeline to Gaza,

25 May 2010 Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs

http://www.mfa.gov.il/MFA/About+the+Ministry/Behind+the+Headlines/Israeli_humanitarian_lifeline_Gaza_25-May-2010.htm 42.)Hamas refuses to allow aid supplies into Gaza Goods brought by flotilla pile up in army warehouses because Hamas rejects their entrance by land Hanan Greenberg Published: June 7, 2010 Israel News http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3901662,00.html 43.)Security Council Calls For End To Hostilities Between Hizbollah, Israel, Unanimously Adopting Resolution 1701 (2006) Permanent Ceasefire to Be Based on Creation Of Buffer Zone Free of Armed Personnel Other than UN, Lebanese Forces http://www.un.org/News/Press/docs/2006/sc8808.doc.htm 44. Presenter: Secretary of Defense Robert M. Gates and Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak April 27,2010 Media Availability with Secretary Gates and Israeli Defense Minister Barak from the Pentagon http://www.defense.gov/transcripts/transcript.aspx?transcriptid=4616 Gates: Hezbollah has more rockets than most governments in the world, 27 April 2010 http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/gates-hezbollah-has-more-rockets-than-most-governments-in-the-world-1.285021 45 )Villagers attack UN peacekeepers in southern Lebanon Latest update 17:31 03.07.10 http://www.haaretz.com/news/international/villagers-attack-un-peacekeepers-in-southern-lebanon-1.299804 46.)United Nations Documents on UNIFIL, Monitoring cessation of hostilities and helping ensure humanitarian access to civilian population http://www.un.org/en/peacekeeping/missions/unifil/documents.shtml UNIFIL Facts and Figures http://www.un.org/en/peacekeeping/missions/unifil/facts.shtml

36

47.)Israel fears Iran May Ship Hezbollah Arms via Beirut port, by Barak Ravid, Haaretz Correspondent April 14, 2008 http://www.cedarsrevolution.net/jtphp/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1485&Itemid=2 48.)Fool Me Once: Should We Trust UNIFIL to Help in Lebanon? Friday, July 28, 2006 http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,206145,00.html Israel accuses UN of collaborating with Hezbollah 11.09.05 http://www.haaretz.com/news/israel-accuses-un-of-collaborating-with-hezbollah-1.169520 49.) The Threat of Maritime Terrorism to Israel Akiva J. Lorenz Consultant, Oct. 1, 2007 http://www.ict.org.il/Articles/tabid/66/Articlsid/251/currentpage/6/Default.aspx 50.) Ibid 49, p6 51.) Weapons Found on 'Karine-A' and 'Santorini' Last updated: 20/07/02 Authors: Kirill, Oleg Granovsky http://www.waronline.org/en/analysis/pal_weapons.htm 52.)Seizing of the Palestinian weapons ship Karine A – Jan 4- 2002 http://smoothstoneblog.com/category/karine-a 54.)Ambassadors, Military Attaches Witness Weapons Seized from Francop, 06 November 2009 http://dover.idf.il/IDF/English/News/Videos/09/11/0505.htm 55.)International Law and the Fighting in Gaza, 2008 p4 , Justus Reid Weiner1 and Avi Bell 2008 Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs ISBN 978-965-218-069-8 56.)Gilad Shalit http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gilad_Shalit 57.)Hamas-linked group offers cash for abduction Israelis Published Date: November 19, 2009 http://www.kuwaittimes.net/read_news.php?newsid=NDI2NTUzNTkz 58.)Iranian Support of Hamas Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center at the Israel Intelligence Heritage & Commemoration Center Jan. 12, 2009 , p4, http://www.terrorism-info.org.il/malam_multimedia/English/eng_n/pdf/iran_e004.pdf 59.)Rabin Arafat Agreed Their Oslo Accords Justify Israel Smacking Flotilla Submitted by Jonathan Mark on Mon, 06/07/2010 - 13:17 http://www.thejewishweek.com/blogs/route_17/rabin_arafat_agreed_their_oslo_accords_justify_israel_smacking_flotilla 60.) The Threat of Maritime Terrorism to Israel Akiva J. Lorenz Consultant, Oct. 1, 2007 p. 16 – 17 http://www.ict.org.il/Articles/tabid/66/Articlsid/251/currentpage/6/Default.aspx 61 .) Ibid.60 p17, 62.)What Really Happened On The Gaza Freedom Flotilla' by Matthew RJ Brodsky and Samara Greenberg Updated June 11, 2010 http://www.jewishpolicycenter.org/1696/what-really-happened-on-the-gaza-freedom-flotilla 63.) Ibid 62, 61.) 64.) It's Official: There was No Humanitarian Aid on Mavi Marmara by Gil Ronen06/10/10, http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/news.aspx/137997 65.)Ibid 62, 66.) Ibid 62, 67.)San Remo Manual on International Law Applicable to Armed Conflicts at Sea, 12 June 1994, paragraph 67 68 .)Ibid 67 69.) See Free Gaza Movement website: http://www.freegaza.org/en/boat-trips/passenger-lists/57-first-trip-to-gaza/172-paul-larudee-phd-usa “Israel says Free Gaza Movement poses threat to Jewish state,” Washington Post, June 1, 2010 (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/05/31/AR2010053103445.html) 70.)November 12, 2008 HP-1267 Treasury Designates the Union of Good Washington, DC-The U.S. Department of the Treasury today designated the Union of Good, an organization created by Hamas leadership to transfer funds to the terrorist organization. http://www.ustreas.gov/press/releases/hp1267.htm 71.)“Treasury Designates the Union of Good,” Press release, November 12, 2008, Executive Order 13224. 72.) Danish Institute For International Studies, “The Role of Islamic Charities in International Terrorist Recruitment and Financing,” by Evan F. Kohlmann. DIIS Working Paper no 2006/7 73.)Council on Foreign Relations, Backgrounder: Hamas, http://www.cfr.org/publication/8968/ 74.)“Reporter’s Transcript of Proceedings.” United States of America v. Ahmed Ressam, aka Benni Noris. United States District Court for the Western District of Washington. Case #: CR 99-666-JCC. Dated April 2, 2001. Pages 11-12. 75.)Evan F. Kohlmann

37

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evan_Kohlmann 76.) Ibid. 72, p 10 – 13, 77.)Ibid. 72 p 1 78.)Turkey curtails Israeli military over flights, making an airstrike on Iran less likely Posted By Thomas E. Ricks June 29, 2010 http://ricks.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2010/06/29/turkey_curtails_israeli_military_overflights_making_an_strike_on_iran_less_likely 79.)Obama Calls Situation In Gaza "Unsustainable" WASHINGTON | Wed Jun 9, 2010 http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE6580PK20100609 80.)Obama Says Gaza ‘Unsustainable,’ Pledges $400 Million By Ron Kampeas · June 9, 2010 http://www.jta.org/news/article/2010/06/09/2739542/obama-says-gaza-unsustainable-pledges-400-million 81.)The Gaza Flotilla of Hypocrisy , JUNE 20, 2010 by Ambassador (ret.) Yoram Ettinger http://israelagainstterror.blogspot.com/ 82.) Ibid. 81, 83.) Israel’s Crisis At Sea -- Another Storm Coming By C. Hart June 19, 2010 http://www.americanthinker.com/2010/06/israels_crisis_at_sea_another.html 84.)Witness' to Flotilla 'Murder' Admits She Was on Another Boat http://www.cbn.com/cbnnews/insideisrael/2010/June/Flotilla-Eyewitness-Not-On-Board/ 85.)Ibid. 84, 86.)The Captain of Turkish Ship Marmara Testifies I Tried to Stop the Preparation Two Hours Before IDF Boarded" June 11, 2010 http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/israel-navy-commandos-gaza-flotilla-activists-tried-to-lynch-us-1.293089 87.)Reuters Admits Cropping Photos of Ship Clash, Denies Political Motive, By Ed Barnes June 08, 2010 | FOXNews.com http://www.foxnews.com/world/2010/06/08/reuters-fake-photos-ihh-gaza-blockade-commandos/ 88.)The Privileged Slander Why the Media Laps Up The Anti Israel Lying Campaign June 27, 2010 By Barry Rubin http://rubinreports.blogspot.com/2010/06/privileged-slander-why-media-laps-up.html 89.) SAIC Research Report 31 December 2007 Iranian Textbooks Content and Context, Prepared by Science Applications International Corporation LINK: CMIP (Http://Www.Edume.Org/) 90.)Thomas, George, “Iran trains ‘ultimate martyrs,’” Christian World News, May 12, 2006, http://www.cbn.com/CBNnews/CWN/051206Iran.asp Rafat, Ahmad, “Europe a Target of Iranian Suicide Bombers,” Student Movement Coordination Committee for Democracy in Iran, May 26, 2006, http://daneshjoo.org/publishers/currentnews/article_6031.shtml Baxter, Sarah, and Mahnaimi, Uzi, “Iran’s president recruits terror master,” The Sunday Times, April 23, 2006, http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2089-2147683,00.html 91.)Unclassified Report On Military Power Of Iran U.S. Congress April 2010 Congressionally Directed Action (CDA) - Military Power of Iran Section 1245 of the Fiscal Year National Defense Authorization Act requires the Secretary of Defense to submit an unclassified and classified report to Congress on the current and future military strategy of Iran. p.9 http://www.fas.org/man/eprint/dod_iran_2010.pdf 92.)Iran’s Ramazan Corps and the ratlines into Iraq By Bill Roggio December 5, 2007 12:26 PM http://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2007/12/irans_ramazan_corps.php 93.)Ibid. 91 p. 3 94.) Iranian Influence In The Levant, Iraq, and Afghanistan Frederick W. Kagan • Kimberly Kagan • Danielle Pletka A Report, Feb. 19, 2008 p. 41 http://www.aei.org/paper/27526 95.)Turkish Sanctions On Israel "Ready" Over Gaza Aid Attack Wednesday, 16 June 2010 http://www.worldbulletin.net/news_detail.php?id=60051 96.)Israel Responds to Turkish Threat by Hillel Fendel Jun. 4, 2010 http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/136862 The Al Fakhoora Project 97.)The Moveon Hamas Nexus Attacking Israel June 19, 2010 Ken Timmerman Highlights The Unholy Alliance Between The Left And Muslim Extremists: Http://Www.Powerlineblog.Com/Archives/2010/06/026566.Php

38

98.)U.S. PR Firm on Payroll of Qatari Group that Took Part in Gaza Flotilla Qatar-based Initiative Encouraged Action against Israel Jun 18, 2010 http://www.theisraelproject.org/site/apps/nlnet/content2.aspx?c=hsJPK0PIJpH&b=689705&ct=8447559 99.)Israel Won’t Apologize to Turkey, Lieberman Says (Update1) July 05, 2010, http://www.businessweek.com/news/2010-07-05/israel-won-t-apologize-to-turkey-lieberman-says-update1-.html 100.)Delegitimization Delegation June 19, 2010 Israel is gearing up for the arrival of a number of new flotillas - representing the new strategy of using NGOs as a way of bringing down the state in the world's eyes. http://www.haaretz.com/magazine/week-s-end/delegitimization-delegation-1.296956 101.)Foundation For Human Rights And Freedom And Humanitarian Relief (IHH) Resources: Portrait of IHH By Evan Kohlmann June 1, 2010 http://www.discoverthenetworks.org/groupProfile.asp?grpid=7544 102.) Israel’s Naval Blockade of Gaza Is Legal, Necessary Dore Gold - Bloomberg Business Week, June 11th, 2010 Dore Gold, president of the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs, was Israel’s ambassador to the United Nations from 1997 to 1999. http://www.israelunitycoalition.org/news/?p=5533 99.) 103.)The Great Satan, he term was originally used by Iranian leader Khomeini in his speech on November 5, 1979 to describe the United States whom he accused of imperialism and the sponsoring of corruption throughout the world. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Satan 104.) In The United States District Court For The Eastern District Of Virginia Alexandria Division United States Of America ) Criminal Case No. 03- -A Abdurahman Muhammad Alamoudi, AKA Ahmed Ressam http://www.investigativeproject.org/documents/case_docs/312.pdf 101.)Testimony Of Ambassador Jeffrey D. Feltman Assistant Secretary Of State For Near Eastern Affairs And Ambassador Daniel Benjamin Coordinator For Counterterrorism Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee On Near Eastern And South And Central Asian Affairs June 8, 2010 p.1 105.)Hizbullah Threatens Recipients of U.S. Funds and Suppress Freedoms in Lebanon July 4, 2010 http://www.rightsidenews.com/2010070510883/global-terrorism/hizbullah-threatens-recipients-of-us-funds-and-suppress-freedoms-in-lebanon.html 106.)Cohn: Not All Apartheid Is Created Equal, July 06, 2010 Martin Regg Cohn http://www.thestar.com/opinion/editorialopinion/article/832423--cohn-not-all-apartheid-is-created-equal 107.)Hamas official Wave of flotillas to sail for Israel after World Cup June 28, 2010 http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/hamas-official-wave-of-flotillas-to-sail-for-israel-after-world-cup-1.298752 108.) Egyptian Islamic Jihad (aka: Al-Jihad, Egyptian al-Jihad; New Jihad; Jihad Group, Al-Qaeda) By Holly Fletcher May 30, 2008 http://www.cfr.org/publication/16376/egyptian_islamic_jihad.html# 109) http://www.fbi.gov/wanted/terrorists/teralzawahiri.htm 110.) Iran And Al Qaeda, By Ali Farassati, Volume 1, Issue 1 September11, 2003) Jamestown.Org/Publications_Details.Php?Volume_Id=391&Issue_Id=287 111.) Source: Vol. 5, No. 10 November 15th, 2005, Iran's New Revolutionary Guards Regime: Anti-Americanism, Oil, And Rising International Tension, Mordechai Abir, Jerusalem Brief .Jcpa.Org/Brief/Brief005-10.Htm 112.)U.S. Policy and Debate on the Middle East: Whatever Happened to Adult Supervision? JULY 1, 2010 By Barry Rubin http://rubinreports.blogspot.com/2010/07/us-policy-and-debate-on-middle-east.html Barry Rubin is director of the Global Research in International Affairs (GLORIA) Center and editor of the Middle East Review of

International Affairs (MERIA) Journal. His latest books are The Israel-Arab Reader (seventh edition), The Long War for Freedom:

The Arab Struggle for Democracy in the Middle East (Wiley), and The Truth About Syria (Palgrave Macmillan). His new edited

books include Lebanon: Liberation, Conflict and Crisis; Guide to Islamist Movements; Conflict and Insurgency in the Middle East;

The West and the Middle East (four volumes); and The Muslim Brotherhood.