Erdogan: Prepare for the '1000 boat flotilla'
He created the impression of wanting to get closer to Israel, and even met with Herzog and Netanyahu, but then came the October 7 massacre that had the Turkish president revert to the position of supporting terrorist organizations.
Nadav Shragai
Israel Hayom
Dec 30, 2023
Erdogan sees himself as the successor of Saladin and Suleiman the Magnificent
In another era, just a few months ago, on the eve of October 7, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan still spent much of his time intensely courting Israel. The motive was transparent: Erdogan believed Israel held the key, especially financially, to the heart and pocket of the United States. The Turkish President did not cease reconciliation declarations, sent emissaries, and spoke of turning a new page. For one short moment, it seemed Erdogan was putting aside his Hamas ideological bent and was guided by Turkey's interests.
For one short moment, Erdogan here seemed to have forgotten the flotillas that tried to break through the blockade on Gaza and the Mavi Marmara affair, his hostile activity on the Temple Mount which his people stirred up, the Turkish attempts to take over buildings and compounds in Jerusalem's Old City, and above all -- the safe haven he provided Hamas murderers for many long years in Istanbul and elsewhere in Turkey, from where Hamas directed many attacks in Israel; from where it managed a financial empire and money flowed almost unchecked to terror and terrorists. Israeli President Isaac Herzog and Netanyahu met with him, and Erdogan was almost whitewashed anew, but then the massacre occurred, Israel went to war, and Erdogan's fanatic ideology prevailed over Turkey's interests.
Recently, after he insisted Hamas is not a terrorist organization, after calling Netanyahu the "butcher" of Gaza and even coming out with his own prediction: "The days are approaching when we will defeat Israeli aggression in Gaza," the real Erdogan, who was always here, reared his head –, but this time without masks and filters.
Erdogan, who sees himself as the successor of Saladin and Suleiman the Magnificent, and the Turks as their "grandchildren", naturally stepped into the shoes of benefactor and protector of the "Muslim Brotherhood" worldwide. He now speaks again of the Ottoman Empire, harking back to the sister cities over which it once ruled: Mecca, Medina, Cairo, Alexandria, Beirut, Damascus, Diyarbakir, Istanbul, and Ankara, and in the same breath mentions Gaza, Jerusalem, Ramallah, Rafah and Nablus. They were all his sisters.
As long as it's just sharp rhetoric and symbols – Erdogan threatens Israel not to dare eliminate senior Hamas officials on his territory, and fosters educational institutions where children shout "Jerusalem is our religion!" and "Israel is the enemy!", and reintroduces in his official receptions of foreign leaders, guard units wearing attire representing the Ottoman Empire soldiers, and not the Presidential Guard of Honor – Israel and the West can live with it.
But in Turkey, where posters with the portrait of a Hamas spokesman now hang in the streets, and where the martyrs of Gaza, including Turkish volunteers, star on local networks, is now starting to translate into actions the megalomania and Erdogan's madness, and this has several expressions.
Remember the Marmara flotilla that ended deadly and embarrassed Israel on the world stage? Now an initiative is being organized in Turkey to assemble 1,000 ships from around the world. According to the plan, they will sail towards Gaza to break the Israeli "blockade" of the Strip. This flotilla, according to early planning, was supposed to set sail on November 23rd (a month ago), to challenge Israel and its navy, but there has been a delay.
The Meir Amit Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center, which is tracking this organization, reports that these are small boats with 6-8 people aboard each and that the purpose of the flotilla is to paralyze Israel's maritime supply line to Gaza for a week or ten days. The flotilla is supposed to include 4,500 people from 40 countries. Most of the participants are from Russia –313 ships, and from Spain 104 ships. Only 12 Turkish boat owners will participate in the flotilla, but the organization is Turkish.
On November 22, dozens of Palestinian solidarity organizations and civil society institutions from around the world convened in Istanbul. They announced the launch of the "International Campaign to Save Gaza." One of the central bodies that participated in this event was the "Freedom Flotilla Coalition," which is currently working to purchase several cargo ships in order to deliver aid to Gaza residents. Zaher Birawi, who is the chairman of the campaign's preparatory committee, is a Palestinian activist living in Britain and associated with the Muslim Brotherhood movement and Hamas. He estimated (according to the Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center) that these ships, including a Norwegian ship, would also set out towards Gaza.
In Israel, officials are already examining whether it is possible to act through judicial means against this initiative, and the scope of action within which the IDF and security agencies can operate in an attempt to thwart, or at least damage, the "1,000-ship flotilla." The PR damage potential for Israel in a blatant clash with this flotilla can be enormous, especially when Israel is fighting for continued legitimacy in the war on Hamas. In the meantime, several covert actions have already delayed the departure of the ships to Israel, but Biraoui and the organizations have not given up.
Another front Turkey under Erdogan is now trying to reignite is Jerusalem, focusing on the Old City and the Temple Mount. One of the means to do so is to revive the male and female Islamic activists (Morabitun and Morabitat) who have stirred up the violent Muslim riots over the years and harassed Jewish visitors there. Two weeks ago, two leaders of Morabitat were released from Israeli prison as part of a hostage deal with Hamas, and elements in east Jerusalem identified with Turkey already want to have them once again take an active role.
These are Hanadi Halawani and Khadija Khweis, both teachers at the Islamic School for Girls operating on the Temple Mount, both with a rich background within the banned Morabitat organization. Halawani and Khweis are affiliated with Hamas and with the northern branch of the Islamic Movement which operated the Morabitat, and both were the driving force behind countless attempts to thwart Jewish visits to the Temple Mount and harm the visitors themselves.
From prisoner exchange deals to the Temple Mount
Halawani, known by the nom de guerre "Al Aqsa's Charm", wrote after the massacre that what was before 10/7 will no longer be and that this is a historic day. "Be part of the victory in your countries and reserve a seat on the victory bus," recommended Halawani, founder of the "Studies in the paths of Al Aqsa" project, operated with the aid of one of the institutions of the Muslim Brotherhood. Her comrade, Khweis, a resident of Az-Zaim, was arrested dozens of times and repeatedly banned from the Temple Mount. Two weeks after the massacre she was arrested on suspicion of incitement and supporting terror. Both initiated visits in the past to the homes of terrorists' mothers. Now they are free again, and elements identified with Turkey in east Jerusalem seek to revive Morabitat activity on the Temple Mount, along with purchase attempts of properties surrounding the area, in Jerusalem's Old City.
The story of the Temple Mount is a story that has not been talked about much since the war began. Ostensibly the area is quiet, and Israel works operationally and intelligently to keep it that way going forward.
What the public in Israel does not know is that a central part of the indoctrination undergone by the Nukhba terrorists – the perpetrators of the massacre in October – dealt with the Al-Aqsa Mosque, its "desecration" by Israel, the "defilement of its Muslim sanctity" and the religious duty to "redeem it from its Jewish infidel captors." The Nukhba terrorists who were captured also talk about this in their interrogations, and it turns out that it was not for nothing that Hamas named its operation "Al-Aqsa Flood."
It turns out, therefore, that the most popular and prevalent motive for attacks over the past 15 years – the false claim "Al-Aqsa is in danger" – has become a central part of the ideological brainwashing that Hamas gave its people before the massacre.
The professor who was expelled by Hamas
Erdogan has also promoted this fabrication over the years and has helped propagate it. At the same time, he contributed money to replace the old, faded crescent moon atop the Dome of the Rock with a new, flashy gold one, sent the head of Turkey's Presidency for Religious Affairs, Mehmet Görmez, to lead the Laylat Al-Qadr prayer on the Temple Mount, and incorporated Jerusalem as a station on the Hajj pilgrimage route to Mecca.
Turkish money from the "Our Heritage" NGO, as well as from the Turkish governmental organization Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency made its way to funding a transport system for Israeli Arabs to the Temple Mount and also reached the Murabitun (men) and Murabitat (women). These were the vanguard in the grand dream of Erdogan and his Sheikh Raed Salah (head of the northern faction of the Islamic Movement); the dream of the global Islamic caliphate, in which Jerusalem and Al-Aqsa were intended to play a central role. Now the Turks, with the help of elements in east Jerusalem, are trying to revive the Murabitat activity on the mountain as well as attempting to purchase properties surrounding the Temple Mount in the Old City of Jerusalem.
A third practical aspect, beyond the inciting rhetoric and public backing that Hamas is currently receiving from Erdogan, is related to Hamas' money trail, in which elements in Turkey have been directly involved over the years, with the government's knowledge there. Israel has reason to believe that in the wake of the war, as Erdogan has chosen sides, there will be an attempt to reactivate these conduits. Over the past few weeks, the US, UK, and Israel have collaborated to impose economic sanctions on dozens of senior Hamas officials who took part, and perhaps are still part, of this money transfer operation. The goal: stopping the flow of funds to Hamas. Many of the Hamas senior officials now sanctioned have stayed in Turkey over the years. Some of them have since relocated to Qatar and Lebanon.
According to the Shin Bet security agency data, Erdogan allowed Hamas to maintain official offices in Istanbul whose activities have gone beyond political activity. The Istanbul headquarters, its branches, and its activists have directed hundreds of attacks and attempted attacks within Israel over the years, mainly in Judea and Samaria. The distinction between Hamas' political wing and its military wing, a distinction that Turkey has insisted was a real thing over the years, has not withstood the test of reality.
It appears that from Israel's perspective, the watershed moment in the cooperation between Turkey and Hamas was the 2018 arrest by Israel (and later deportation) of Turkish law professor Cemil Tekeli. Tekeli was recruited in Turkey by Zaher Jabarin, one of the terrorists released in the Gilad Schalit deal and a senior Hamas official. At the time, Jabarin was in charge of the Hamas budget, and as such also promoted extensive military terror activity in Judea and Samaria under Sheikh Raed Salah's guidance.
In a rare, almost forgotten statement published by the Shin Bet at the time, the following was written explicitly for the first time: "Turkey contributes to the military buildup of Hamas... The investigation findings demonstrate the extensive military and economic activity of Hamas in Turkey, which takes place undisturbed, with Turkey turning a blind eye, and sometimes even with the encouragement of elements within the Turkish government, and with the assistance of Turkish citizens, some of whom are close to the government..."
Tekeli revealed in his investigation that Hamas operates in close connection to Turkey's leadership elite and that senior Turkish government officials contribute to Hamas' military buildup through SADAT, a company that provides funding and military gear for establishing a "Palestine army" whose purpose is to fight Israel.
One SADAT employee even assisted senior Hamas officials in visiting an arms exhibition in Turkey, where they expressed interest in UAV capabilities. Eventually, Hamas operated locally-made UAVs named "Ababeel" against Israel. These reconnaissance and attack drones were produced in the Gaza Strip.
An official Hamas representative in Turkey
In recent years, most of Hamas' activity in Turkey has been led by terrorists released in the Schalit deal who were deported or arrived there. Some obtained Turkish citizenship. This has had Turkey gradually transformed not only into a haven from which attacks and terrorist operations against Israel (both in its territory in general and Judea and Samaria in particular) are directed but also a safe house for Hamas money launderers.
The money has been used, among other things, for the Hamas military arm in Gaza and for financing terror infrastructure in Judea and Samaria. Hamas activists and collaborators in Turkey have been engaged in fundraising and transferring funds as well as operating money-changing companies through which terror funds are laundered.
From information held by the Americans, who as noted imposed additional economic sanctions on some Hamas activists in Turkey and Qatar just days ago, it appears that the main source for transferring financial support to Hamas via Turkey (and sometimes via Lebanon too) was Iran. The transfers to Hamas were made by the Iranian Revolutionary Guards' Quds Force, with the participation of Hamas activists and other helpers as well as money-changing companies based in Turkey in the transfer process.
One such company was RADIN, which constituted a conduit for the money flow, whose deputy CEO was Ismail Tash. Another key figure was Zaher Jabarin, Hamas' "West Bank" deputy leader who stayed in Turkey and transferred hundreds of thousands of dollars to Judea and Samaria for Hamas' terror activity.
Shin Bet exposed, in its investigation, extensive Hamas money laundering activity in Turkey under Zaher Jabarin's guidance, with the Turkish authorities turning a blind eye to the money's source. The investigation revealed that Hamas activists own a company called IMAS. It was used by Hamas to disguise money laundering activity to the tune of millions of dollars, which were transferred to the Gaza Strip and various countries. The Shin Bet noted that the company opened an account at a Turkey bank and that the company CEO opened another bank account in his name at another Turkish bank.
Another senior official sanctioned recently is Harun Nasser Al-Din, a Turkey resident who holds the Jerusalem portfolio in Hamas and is close to Zaher Jabarin. Nasser Al-Din is one of the Hamas activists who previously took part in a network that transferred funds from Turkey and Gaza to Hamas in Hebron. Two other figures targeted by the sanctions are Mehmet Kaya, residing in Turkey and suspected of providing financial services and transferring tens of millions of dollars to Hamas, and Jihad Yaghmour, Hamas' official representative in Turkey, who was involved in murdering the soldier Nachshon Waxman.
Yaghmour was deported to Turkey as part of the Schalit deal and was welcomed there. In his official role, he currently serves as President of the Association of Jerusalem and Our History. However, according to security officials' assessment, this is merely a cover, and Yaghmour was also involved "in the apparatus activating the terror cells in Judea and Samaria under Sheikh Raed Salah's guidance".
Yaghmour's ties with the Turkish government are almost overt. On December 14, 2019, he accompanied a Hamas delegation headed by Ismail Haniyeh visiting Turkey, and that same month he met with the Justice and Development Party's Deputy chairman for foreign affairs in Turkey. In May 2019 he accompanied Khaled Mashal, then-head of Hamas' political bureau, in a meeting with a senior Justice and Development Party official in Turkey.
In Shin Bet interrogations of detainees in Israel, Yaghmour's name came up as a key liaison between Turkey and Hamas. He was also identified as the liaison between Hamas and the Turkish government in an Investigative Journal TV investigative piece on November 27, 2019. The Telegraph reported in December 2019 that Yaghmour maintains connections on a daily basis with the Turkish intelligence services. Turkish intelligence cooperates with Western intelligence agencies in the fight against terror and is responsible for delivering intelligence information to a range of government bodies in Turkey – from President Erdogan, through the prime minister and chief of staff and National Security Council and additional agencies in Turkey.
"You are the future of Europe"
"Erdogan," states an internal security establishment memo, "is the leader of the Muslim Brotherhood in the Middle East and sees Turkey as the 'new Ottoman Empire'. Since the outset of his tenure, he has aspired to become sultan, promoting his version of Islam by supporting the Muslim Brotherhood and Hamas rather than Fatah, and trying to gain hegemony even in Europe through illegal immigration."
The document quotes Erdogan openly calling on Turks living in Europe to have more children: "The places where you live and work are now your homeland and new country. Demand ownership over them! Establish more businesses and enroll your children in better schools. Move your families into better neighborhoods. Drive the best cars, buy the nicest homes, and have five children. Not just three, because you are the future of Europe."
For many years, Turkey has been exporting imams to mosques across Europe as part of the consistent approach expressed by Erdogan, but in recent days Germany decided, in light of Erdogan's support for Hamas, to halt these imports and stipulated that Turkish imams will be trained for their positions only on German soil.
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