Haniyeh extends thanks to Turkey

As part of an official tour to Turkey, Gaza Strip's Hamas Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh yesterday visited Mavi Marmara, the lead ship in the flotilla on which eight Turks and a Turkish-American were killed in the Israeli raid in May 2010. Haniyeh was welcomed by nearly 200 people including the deceased activists' families on his visit which is supported by the Humanitarian Relief Foundation (IHH). Speaking at a press conference on the ship, Haniyeh said that Israel has hindered Mavi Marmara from reaching Gaza, but Palestinians reached the flotilla today. "Turkey's martyrs are ours, your blood is ours and your wounds are ours. Israel acted as pirates and killed nine activists unprecedentedly," Haniyeh said. In an interview with the Anatolia news agency yesterday, Haniyeh said that his visit to Turkey aimed at extending Palestinians' thanks to the Turkish government and people for supporting them. Stating that the Palestinian people owe much to martyrs of the freedom flotilla, Haniyeh said that Mavi Marmara had made great contributions both to Gaza and the Palestinian cause. Haniyeh also stressed the importance of changes in Egyptian rule thanks to the Arab Spring, saying that those changes allowed them to go abroad and that he will also visit many Arab and Islam countries as part of his tour. Haniyeh said that the people who have made a great revolution following the Arab Spring were standing in solidarity with Palestinians, adding, "Islamist and populist parties that came to power through elections following the uprisings have been supporting the Palestinian cause for many years. This situation shows that not only Arab people, but also governments will stand next to Palestinian people and protect their rights in the future as well," Haniyeh said.