The aim of the Mavi Marmara, which led a flotilla of seven ships to break Israel’s maritime blockade of the Gaza Strip, was not to help the Palestinian civilian population but to shore up the Hamas regime, Maj.-Gen. Eitan Dangot, the coordinator of activities in Judea, Samaria and Gaza, told the Turkel Commission on Tuesday.
'Gaza was not facing a humanitarian crisis but a monetary crisis,' after Egypt closed the Rafah border crossing and choked off the supply of cash to the Hamas government, he told the commission. 'If there was any reason for the flotilla, it was only to give legitimacy to Hamas and for no other reason because there was no [other] crisis in Gaza which necessitated it.' Dangot explained that the Hamas regime needed the money to pay the salaries of its employees. The Mavi Marmara, he continued, was not carrying humanitarian goods, but was carrying a large amount of money."
