IDF: Global Jihad on flotilla By YAAKOV KATZ
01/06/2010 Israel concerned next flotilla will be accompanied by Turkish Navy. Dozens of passengers who were aboard the
Mavi Marmara Turkish passenger ship are suspected of having connections with Global Jihad-affiliated terrorist organizations, defense officials said Tuesday, amid growing concerns that Turkey will dispatch Navy warships to accompany a future flotilla to the Gaza Strip.
According to the defense officials, the IDF identified a group of about 100 passengers on the ship that could have terrorist connections with Global Jihad affiliated groups.
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During its searches of the Mavi Marmara on Tuesday, the military also discovered a cache of bulletproof vests, night-vision goggles as well as gas masks. On Monday morning, nine international activists were killed during the Navy’s takeover of the Mavi Marmara which was trying to break the Israel-imposed sea blockade on the Gaza Strip.
The group of over 50 passengers with possible terror connections have refused to identify themselves and were not carrying passports. Many of them were however carrying envelopes packed with thousands of dollars in cash.
The military is working to identify the passengers and is looking into the possibility that some of them have ties with Global Jihad-affiliated terror organizations and that some were involved in past global terror attacks. Some of them are apparently known Islamic extremists.
“This is the group that was behind the violent lynch against the naval commandos,” a defense official said. “They came on board the ship prepared and after they had trained for the expected Navy takeover.”
IDF fears Turkey might send Navy ships with next flotilla
On Tuesday, Turkish Prime Minister threatened Israel not to test Turkey’s patience.
"Turkey's hostility is as strong as its friendship is valuable,” he said, adding “"Israel in no way can legitimize this murder, it cannot wash its hand of this blood."
This comment, officials said, could signify a change in Turkish military action in the event that another flotilla is dispatched to the Gaza Strip. One official said that the possibility that Turkey would send navy ships was slim – due to the country’s membership in NATO – but that the possibility was of great concern.
“This is a definite possibility that we need to prepare for,” a senior defense official said on Tuesday.
The flotilla which arrived late Sunday night was comprised of six ships, and another two ships, including The Rachel Corrie, were expected to attempt to enter Israeli waters in the coming days.
Greta Berlin of the Free Gaza Movement, which organized the flotilla, said that two boats, one of which was carrying about three dozen passengers, would arrive in the region late this week or early next week.
"This initiative is not going to stop," she said from the group's base in Cyprus. "We think eventually Israel will get some kind of common sense. They're going to have to stop the blockade of Gaza, and one of the ways to do this is for us to continue to send the boats."
Navy sources said that the coming ships would be intercepted the same way the flotilla was stopped on Monday morning although it had yet to be decided if the operation would be carried out by Sayetet 13, the Navy’s commando unit.
“We are tracking the ships and are under orders to stop them,” a top Navy officer said.
According to the sources, the Navy, in a future operation will use more force to prevent ships from reaching the Gaza Strip. "We boarded the ship and were attacked as if it was a war," one officer said. "That will mean that we will have to come prepared in the future as if it was a war."
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