Aboard the good ship Mavi Marmara

Please note: everything in this post is based on information from Al Jazeera, Al Aqsa (the Hamas TV channel), and the IHH, the "charity" organization behind the Gaza flotilla.

The video footage below originally aired on Al Jazeera TV:



[The following is from Itamar Marcus and Nan Jacques Zilberdik of PalestinianMediaWatch.org, but please note that their sources are Al Jazeera and Al Aqsa.]

The following is the transcript from Al-Jazeera TV:
Reporter: "Despite the Israeli threats and several unexpected delays, the arrival of the ships at the meeting point before sailing to the Gaza Strip inflamed the emotions and the enthusiasm of the participants."
Visuals from Gaza flotilla ship of young Muslims shouting Islamic battle chant invoking the killing and defeat of Jews in battle:
"[Remember] Khaibar, Khaibar, oh Jews! The army of Muhammad will return!"
[Khaibar is the name of last Jewish village defeated by Muhammad's army and it marked the end of Jewish presence in Arabia in 628.]
Reporter: "While singing songs reminiscent of the Palestinian Intifada (Palestinian terror war against Israel, 2000 - 2005), participants expressed their longing to reach Gaza."
A participant: "Right now we face one of two happy endings: either Martyrdom or reaching Gaza." [Based on Islamic call before battle: "Either victory or Martyrdom".]
[Al-Jazeera TV, May 29, 2010]

Hamas's Al-Aqsa TV chose to glorify flotilla participants who shouted the Islamic battle cry by broadcasting an interview with a university lecturer who referred to them as "those with faith and will."

Dr. Abd Al-Fatah Shayyeq Naaman, lecturer in Shari'ah law at a university in Sanaa (Yemen):
"Yesterday I followed the news agencies and they conveyed Zionist threats to stop the convoy and prevent it from entering Gaza; on the other side, those with faith and will once again call out upon hearing the reports of the threats: '[Remember] Khaibar, Khaibar, oh Jews! The army of Muhammad will return!'"
Hamas TV Host: "Strong motivation."
Shayyeq Naaman: "One woman standing on the ship said that now we are awaiting one of two happy endings: either Martyrdom or the beaches of Gaza."
[Al-Aqsa TV (Hamas), May 30, 2010]

Al-Jazeera also reports that before the confrontation, flotilla participants announced that they would use "resistance" against Israel. Mukawama (resistance) is the Arabic term used by Palestinians to refer to all violence against Israel, including suicide terror.

"The flotilla includes hundreds of Arab and foreign solidarity activists from more than 40 countries ... They have announced their determination to use resistance to any attempt at piracy by the Israeli occupation."
[Al-Jazeera website, May 29, 2010

But wait, there's more. Two photos of the merry shipboard peacemakers now prove that they were armed with knives as well as with metal clubs. What's worse is that when most people first saw these photos, Reuters News Agency had cropped the knives out of the photos! The website LittleGreenFootballs has both the cropped and uncropped versions. Below are the uncropped pictures of knife-wielding peace activists:


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Other photos, proudly displayed at the website of the IHH (the "charity organization" that organized the "aid ships" to Gaza) document the violent capture of Israeli soldiers at the hands of the club and knife wielding peace activists. The IDF has claimed all along that it was the abduction of these soldiers, and the seizure of their weapons, that led to the escalation of the confrontation aboard the Mavi Marmara and the subsequent loss of life.

In closing, I cannot help but think of Assud the Jew-Eating Bunny, former star of the Hamas children's show, "Tomorrow's Pioneers". Assud became a martyr early in 2009 by throwing himself in front of an Israeli rocket. As he lay dying he asked the children of Gaza to "remember me as a martyr." Assud was the third "co-host" of Tomorrow's Pioneers to die a martyr's death. The current co-host is Nassur the Bear, who appears to be something of a coward since he has yet to martyr himself despite now being on the show several months longer than any of the previous co-hosts. To learn more about martyrdom-themed children's entertainment click on the picture below (and also check out the wikipedia entry for Tomorrow's Pioneers).