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Argument: Many Gaza flotilla activists desired martyrdom

Issue Report: Israeli raid on Gaza flotilla

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Some of the activists who would later die during the MV Mavi Marmara clash spoke of dreams of martyrdom. Ali Khaider Benginin told his family before leaving, “I am going to be a shahid; I dreamt I will become a shahid – I saw in a dream that I will be killed.”[1] His wife also said that he “constantly prayed to become a martyr.”[2]

On 29 May, Aljazeera broadcast footage of some activists on the MV Mavi Marmara participating in a chant invoking battle against Jews.[3]

On 3 June, the IDF released footage from a Press TV interview before the raid in which a flotilla passenger says, “With the help of God, I will be a shahid.”[4]