The Turkish IHH, which directed the 'Free Gaza' flotilla led by the Mavi Marmara, continues at the forefront of an anti-Israeli hate and incitement campaign, according to a report by the Meir Amit Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center. The IHH is calling for the annihilation of the "Zionist entity" and exploiting and inflating the myth of the Mavi Marmara "heroism."

IHH leader Bülent Yildirim continues using anti-Semitic themes to defame Israel. He recently claimed that "Zionists" controlled the United States and the global media and repeatedly accused Israel of deliberate "slaughter" aboard the Mavi Marmara. He also claimed that the takeover of the ship was meant to establish Israel's ownership of the oil and gas fields in the Mediterranean.
 
Thousands of people participated in the reception for the Mavi Marmara at the port of Istanbul on December 26. The families of the operatives killed aboard the ship and representatives from various countries attended, and the crowd shouted "Death to Israel." Senior members of the Turkish government did not attend.
 
IHH leader Bülent Yildirim gave a speech to inflate the myth of the "heroism" of the Mavi Marmara. He praised the struggle against the IDF soldiers and claimed that Israel attacked the ship with "dozens of boats, warships, helicopters and even submarines" and that "the Israeli soldiers used every possible weapon except an atomic bomb." 
 
Yildirim announced that [IHH] would struggle against "the filth that is Israel" and called for "release from the burden that Israel puts on the back of the Middle East." He also criticized the leaders of the Islamic countries who, "if they wanted to, could wipe Zionism off the face of the earth." 
 
According to a report last month on the Palestine Monitor website, the Mavi Marmara will be returning to Istanbul on the anniversary of Operation Cast Lead on December 26. A ceremony organized by the Humanitarian Relief Foundation (IHH) would be held that day and politicians, activists and survivors would gather to mourn the losses on the flotilla and in Gaza.
 
The IHH has also announced that a new flotilla to Gaza will be formed, once again starring the Mavi Marmara. The new flotilla will sail to Gaza on the anniversary of the clash with the IDF navy commandos, on May 31, 2011.