Most of ‘Marmara’ wounded had Islamic ties – report

Vast majority of passengers wounded aboard flotilla were Turkish nationals affiliated with Islamic groups.

By YAAKOV KATZ
Turkey Funeral 311 (photo credit: ASSOCIATED PRESS)
Turkey Funeral 311
(photo credit: ASSOCIATED PRESS)
A vast majority of the passengers wounded aboard the Mavi Marmara ship, commandeered by the Israel Navy in late May, were Turkish nationals affiliated with Islamic organizations, according to a report released on Tuesday by the Israel-based Intelligence Terrorism and Information Center.
According to the report, 53 passengers were wounded during clashes with navy commandos from the elite Shayetet 13 unit – and 23 of them were reported to have sustained serous wounds. Nine other passengers, all Turkish nationals, were killed during the raid.
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The center, known by its Hebrew acronym MALAM, compared a list of the wounded released by the IHH – the socalled Turkish humanitarian organization that sponsored the Mavi Marmara – with lists of the passengers that the navy found aboard the vessel, which was stopped on May 31 as it tried to break the Israel-imposed sea blockade on the Gaza Strip.
Israel outlawed the IHH several years ago for its alleged ties with Hamas, and Defense Minister Ehud Barak called the organization “extremist supporters of terror.”
The report identified 37 of the wounded as members of the IHH or other sympathetic Turkish organizations.
According to the findings, all of the 23 passengers seriously wounded were Turkish males who had all, except for one, boarded the Mavi Marmara in Anatolia. Three of them are known IHH activists, and 13 others are active in other Turkish organizations, which MALAM said appeared to be of an “Islamic nature.”
Among those not wounded seriously, seven were identified as IHH members, and 13 as active in other Turkish organizations also believed to be of an Islamic nature, the report said.
According to the report, the comparison of the lists and the identities of those wounded backs up the IDF’s claims that the Shayetet 13 commandos encountered a well-organized group of mercenaries who had planned a violent attack against the soldiers.