Hamas documents uncovered in the Gaza Strip, and now being disclosed for the first time, indicate a direct link between the Global Sumud Flotila leaders and the Hamas terrorist organization, just days before they are set to try to illegally arrive in Gaza as part of a provocation.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs reported that "while Hamas in the Gaza Strip is responsible for what takes place inside the strip, Hamas abroad is responsible for activity outside the strip, with an emphasis on the PCPA organization, which is subordinate to Hamas and serves as an arm of the movement."
The PCPA (Palestinian Conference for Palestinians Abroad) organization was established in 2018 and serves as Hamas's representative body overseas, functioning essentially as Hamas embassies. The organization allegedly operates under a civilian cover and is responsible, on Hamas' behalf, for mobilizing actions against Israel – including violent demonstrations, anti-Israel marches, and provocation and demonstration flotillas.
The first official Hamas document discovered in the Gaza Strip is a 2021 letter signed by the then-head of Hamas' political bureau, Ismail Haniyeh, which explicitly and directly urges the PCPA chairman to engage in unity. In this letter, Haniyeh publicly grants his blessing to the PCPA organization. It should be noted that the State of Israel already designated the organization as a terrorist organization in 2021 because of its role as an arm of Hamas.
The second official Hamas document includes a list of PCPA operatives, some of whom are known senior Hamas officials. Among the names on the list are Zaher Birawi, who serves as head of the Hamas sector in the PCPA in the United Kingdom and is recognized as the leader of the demonstration flotillas to the Gaza Strip over the past 15 years (No. 19 in the document), and also Saif Abu Kashak (No. 25 in the document), an organization operative in Spain. This document was found in a Hamas post in the strip and proves once more the direct connection between the flotilla leaders and Hamas.
In addition to being a PCPA operative associated with Hamas, Saif Abu Kashak serves as the chief executive officer of Cyber Neptune, a shell company in Spain that owns dozens of the ships participating in the "Samoud" flotilla. In this way, these ships are effectively held in Hamas ownership.
