Local charities seek to help besieged Palestinians

The government is encouraging citizens to donate aid directly to the cash-strapped Palestinian population instead of channelling it through local organisations, which have been seeking permission to launch fund-raising campaigns of their own. The Hashemite Charity Foundation (HCF), for example, an NGO affiliated with the Royal Court, appealed on Monday to Jordanians from all walks of life, urging them to contribute. Senior HCF official Rajab Zubeid called on other charity organisations to send donations to the foundation because it enjoys “easy access” to the Palestinian territories. “It will be very hard for other groups to send donations to Gaza and the West Bank due to Israeli restrictions,” said Zubeid. “But we’ve been doing it for a while, with no obstacles.” Relations between Jordan and Hamas have deteriorated ever since the latter’s January victory in the Palestinian elections. The kingdom has accused the group of smuggling weapons into Jordanian territory and plotting to undermine national security – charges that the Hamas leadership vehemently denies. Despite rocky relations, King Abdullah has continued to publicly pledge support for Palestinian national independence. Earlier this month, Amman dispatched a convoy of humanitarian assistance to the Palestinian territories, the fourth in two months, carrying tons of food and medicine. Popular organisations, however, have expressed a preference for carrying out fund-raising campaigns themselves. In the wake of an international embargo on the democratically-elected Hamas government in the Palestinian territories, Jordanian party leaders, parliamentarians and union officials formed a committee to collect donations. The committee, however, still awaits government approval. “We applied for permission to start the campaign two months ago, but we still haven’t heard back from the government,” said Zaki Bani Irsheid, secretary-general of the Islamic Action Front, the political wing of Jordan’s influential Muslim Brotherhood movement. “I can see that the government doesn’t want to give us the green light.” Bani Irsheid went on to say that he planned to “personally” ask King Abdullah to allow the group forge ahead with their plan. Abdullah himself has been quick to publicly maintain solidarity with Palestinians living under Israeli occupation. “We will not, on any day, under any circumstances, fail to support and assist the Palestinians, until they attain their rights,” the monarch proclaimed in a speech last week marking the kingdom's 60th anniversary of its national independence. “Jordan cannot forget the union of blood, goals and destiny with its Palestinian brethren.” Despite these lofty declarations, however, some observers say that current levels of aid from Jordan to the Palestinians are insufficient. “Jordan has been sending convoys to Africa and Asia,” said parliamentarian Ali Abul Sukkar, who represents the populous city of Zarqa. “Our duty towards the Palestinians is greater than that,” Abul Sukkar added, pointing out that more than 65 percent of Jordan's population were of a Palestinian origin. The Palestinian territories hover on the brink of financial – and humanitarian – disaster after the US, the EU and Canada froze direct financial assistance to the Palestinian Authority (PA) in the wake of the Hamas electoral victory. As a result, the PA has been unable to pay the salaries of some 150,000 employees, while health care infrastructure has deteriorated at an alarming rate. MBH/AR/AM