Another Flotilla?
Report: IHH-sponsored boats will leave Turkey for Gaza on Sunday
October 26, 2011
The Mavi Marmara arrives back in Turkey last year.(Mustafa Ozer/AFP/Getty Images)
UPDATE: 972+ reports that IHH denies plans for a flotilla. Thanks to commenter Dani ben Leb.
972+ has it. The exclusion of IHH, the Turkish charity with ties to Hamas, from the flotilla that was set to launch this past June was an early victory for Israel against a mission that ultimately never left port; IHH was instrumental in organizing last year’s flotilla, in which 9 members were killed by Israeli soldiers aboard the Mavi Marmara.
Unconfirmed reports have it that Turkish navy ships would accompany the flotilla, something Prime Minister Erdogan has at times threatened. “That would be perceived as a serious provocation by Israel,” 972+ reports. Er, actually, if Turkish ships were to deliberately attempt to run an Israeli blockade, it would inarguably be a serious provocation.
Marc Tracy is a staff writer at The New Republic, and was previously a staff writer at Tablet. He tweets @marcatracy.
