Gaza-bound convoy enters Jordan

22/12/2009 20:34

from Jordan News Agency (Petra)

Mafraq, Dec 22 (Petra) -- An aid convoy with over 220 vehicles and 450 figures from the United States and European countries on Tuesday crossed into Jordan from Syria en route to the Israeli-blockaded Gaza Strip.

Chairman of the Jordan Hashemite Charity Organization JHCO Ahmad Al-Amian welcomed The Life-Line aid convoy to Gaza (Viva Palestina) as it arrived at the Jaber terminal on the border with Syria.

Prime Minister Samir Rifai had asked authorities to facilitate the passage of the aid convoy which started the journey from London with food and medical aid donated by European civil society institutions at the initiative of European parliamentarians.

Amian said that JHCO, at the behest of His Majesty King Abdullah II, had been dispatching regular monthly aid convoys to Gaza since the siege was imposed on the coastal strip, noting that the organisation had sent a total of 321 convoys in addition to a fully-equipped field clinic.

British MP George Gallawi, who led the convoy, thanked His Majesty King Abdullah II for his humanitarian and political support to the Palestinian people in world forums and also hailed the Jordanian government for the facilities offered to ensure the convoy reached its destination.

He told a press conference that the convoy aimed at saving human lives, adding that it will stay in Amman overnight and continue the journey to Aqaba and on to Gaza, where it is scheduled to arrive on December 27, the first anniversary of the Israeli war on the coastal strip Gallawi, a British lawmaker and human rights activist, asked Egypt to facilitate the crossing of the convoy via its Rafah terminal on the border with Gaza.

Gallawi also welcomed war crimes arrest warrants issued by a British court against former Israeli foreign minister Tzipi Livni and defence Minister Ehud Barack for their role in the Gaza war and called on the world community to bring to justice all Israelis who committed war crimes against Palestinians.

Professional Associations President, Abdullah Obeidat, hailed the "great role" by leaders and people of conscious around the world to lift the blockade on Gaza, noting that Jordan had been the closest to the Palestinian people.