RUTHFULLY YOURS

Report: Turkish Islamists operating in Jordan
plan to infiltrate Israel

TEL AVIV — An anti-Israeli Turkish Islamist group has infiltrated Jordan, a report said.

An Israeli intelligence report asserted that the Turkish Humanitarian Relief Foundation began operations in Jordan to infiltrate the Jewish state. The state-sponsored Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center said the foundation, known by its Turkish acronym, IHH, was involved in a violent attempt to cross the Allenby Bridge from Jordan to the Israeli-controlled West Bank on May 15 during regional anti-Israeli demonstrations.

“A Turkish Islamist delegation, which in our assessment included IHH activists, was involved in violent clashes with Jordanian security forces near Allenby Bridge on Nakba Day,” the report, referring to the Arab commemoration of Israel’s founding, said. “The incident is yet another demonstration of the violent methods used by the IHH and its Islamist allies during anti-Israeli public relations activities.”

[On June 5, the Israel Army was on alert for assaults by Palestinians and their supporters along the borders with Jordan, Lebanon, Syria and the Gaza Strip. The army strengthened the Syrian border and dug trenches and minefields.]

IHH has been identified as an Islamist group that was operating against Israel under the guise of humanitarian activities. In May 2010, IHH, said to be supported by the Islamist government of Turkish Prime Minister Recep Erdogan, played a major role in the Turkish-flagged flotilla intercepted by the Israel Navy, in which nine people were killed. In February, IHH leaders were invited by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to Teheran.

The Israeli center, regarded as the open source agency of the intelligence community, said IHH in Jordan has been represented by an Islamic journalist Hakan Albayrak, 43. In 1994, Albayrak was identified as the chief of the IHH mission in Bosnia, and in 2003, he was sentenced to 15 years for opposing Turkey’s secular regime.

“In Jordan the Turkish delegation took part in a procession referred to as the ‘March of Return,’ which left the village of Karameh and moved in the direction of Allenby Bridge,” the report said. “They refused to follow the instructions issued by the Jordanian security forces, tried to force their way towards the border, and clashed with the security forces. One demonstrator was killed and dozens were wounded in the violent confrontations.”

IHH has deemed the so-called Nakba Day demonstrations a success. The report identified as Turkish nationals those who led the procession that battled Jordanian security forces. Five of the 28 Turks, who arrived in Jordan from Syria, were said to have been injured.

Over the last 18 months, IHH was involved in at least three clashes with security forces from either Egypt, Israel or Jordan. The report cited the Viva Palestina convoy, Mavi Marmara flotilla and the recent march toward the Allenby Bridge.

“Confrontations between the Turkish activists and the Jordanian security forces — police and commandos — broke out during the first phase of the march,” the report said. “After several Palestinians were detained by the security forces, the Turkish participants decided to march towards the police car to rescue the detained colleagues. Jordanian commandos started beating them and compelled them to retreat.”