The Ad Kan organization and Israel’s Foreign Ministry published statements this week revealing that Hamas is directly involved in the Global Sumud Flotilla, which is expected to reach Israel on Yom Kippur.

Ad Kan published a photo of flotilla participant and avid terror supporter Greta Thunberg with the head of the Hamas branch in Europe.

The organization stated: “Look closely at the photo—on the right, Greta Thunberg, human-rights and environmental activist. On the left, the head of Hamas’s command in Europe, Zaher Birawi. What are both of them doing on the deck of the Madeline ship moments before it set out ‘to break the siege on Gaza?'”

“Tonight, we expose the truth. This is not a human-rights flotilla—it’s a flotilla of Hamas in Europe! Since 2018, we have been tracking the flotilla industry. Behind the headline ‘aid for Gaza’ stands a well-oiled international propaganda apparatus led by Hamas. These flotillas rarely carry commercial goods or relief supplies; they mainly carry communications and filming equipment.

“About three weeks ago, a new organization was formed, the Global Sumud Flotilla. Activists, including Greta, are preparing for what they call ‘the biggest attempt ever to break the siege on Gaza’— a flotilla of dozens of ships with participants from 44 countries which set sail from ports in Spain at the end of August. So who is behind it?

“In recent years, Hamas has become more sophisticated. They put well-known ‘human-rights activists’ at the forefront, some of them social-media influencers, but behind the scenes, the people running it are Hamas operatives.

“One of these Hamas operatives is Zaher Birawi, head of Hamas’s command in Europe. A resident of London, he was born in a village near Shechem in 1961, and in the 1990s was sent by none other than Sheikh Ahmed Yassin—to establish Hamas Europe in London. He has previously supported suicide bombings.”

“Birawi is one of the founders of the ‘Freedom Flotillas Coalition,’ which leads the flotillas. As early as 2013, the Israeli Justice Ministry defined Birawi as a member of a terror organization because of his affiliation with Hamas’s European headquarters. Birawi also heads the ‘International Coordination Committee for the Great Return March,’ and his name was even mentioned on Hamas’s website in connection with the 2018 ‘Great Return’ marches — those violent riots on the Gaza-Israel border. Birawi is also a member of the ‘International Committee to Break the Siege on the Gaza Strip.’

“Another leading figure is Muhammad Qutash, who replaced Amin Abu Rashad as Hamas’s leader in the Netherlands. According to the Ministry of Diaspora Affairs, Qutash was one of the leaders of the pogrom against Maccabi Tel Aviv fans in Amsterdam in 2024. In our research, we found documentation of Qutash together with one of the flotilla participants, Tiago Avila, at one of the flotilla’s stopovers.

“Alongside them operates Amin Abu Rashad himself, who grew up in Lebanon and now lives in the Netherlands. Rashad has been dubbed a Hamas goodwill ambassador. You know him well from the sting investigation in which he supported the destruction of Israel. He was detained following our activity in the Netherlands on charges of transferring funds to Hamas, and a few months ago, he was designated in the United States as a Hamas operative and terrorist.

“Another figure is Rashad al-Baz, one of the organizers of the recent Madeline flotilla, who presents himself as part of the International Alliance to Break the Siege on Gaza—another organization established by Hamas Europe. He previously led aid convoys from Europe to Egypt and from there to Gaza until February 2023, and was received in Gaza by senior Hamas official Razi Hamed—the same Hamed who said, “We must strike Israel with all our might. ‘Al-Aqsa Flood’ was only the first time. There will be a second, third, and fourth time.”

“Finally, the truth comes to light: a public, shameless cooperation between ‘human-rights activists’ such as Greta Thunberg and Hamas operatives. As you can see, she apparently has no problem being photographed with a Hamas figure on the deck!

“We at Ad Kan call on the State of Israel to stop being soft in the fight against Hamas in Europe. It is time for the prime minister and foreign minister to present to the world the information linking Hamas and the flotillas—we have passed all the information to the Mossad and the security authorities. Hamas operatives in Europe should have their bank accounts frozen, be sanctioned, exposed to the world, and made to pay the price for what they do against us, both publicly and criminally. Ad Kan (Enough!)!”

Israel’s Foreign Ministry on Tuesday revealed Hamas documents uncovered in Gaza that, for the first time, point to a direct link between flotilla organizers and the PCPA organization that runs them—and Hamas.

The PCPA (Palestinian Conference for Palestinians Abroad) was founded in 2018 and serves as Hamas’s representative body overseas, effectively functioning as Hamas’s embassies. Though operating under a civilian guise, the organization—on Hamas’s behalf—mobilizes actions against Israel, including violent protests, marches, and flotillas meant to provoke and challenge Israel.

In 2021, Israel designated PCPA as a terror organization for serving as a Hamas front.

The first official Hamas document discovered in Gaza is a 2021 letter signed by slain Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh blessing the organization and calling on the PCPA chairman for unity. The second Hamas document includes a list of PCPA operatives who are senior Hamas figures, including Zaher Birawi, head of Hamas’s PCPA sector in the UK and known as the leading organizer of protest flotillas to Gaza over the past 15 years, and Saif Abu Kashk, the group’s activist in Spain.

Birawi was one of the spokespeople for Turkey’s Mavi Marmara flotilla in 2010.

The documents also reveal that Abu Kashk is the CEO of Cyber Neptune, a shell company in Spain that owns dozens of vessels of the Sumud flotilla, meaning that these ships are Hamas-owned.

(YWN Israel Desk—Jerusalem)