Jordan To Send Aid, Medical Supplies To West Bank, Gaza

Jordan's King Abdullah II, Queen Rania and their son, Prince Hashem, attend the king's Physical Fitness award ceremony at Al-Hussein Sport City in Amman on 27 May 2008.

27 May 2008

Jordan's King Abdullah II on Tuesday ordered the dispatch of food aid and medical supplies to the West Bank and Gaza Strip to ease the hardships of Palestinians, the palace said.

Fifteen trucks laden with 200 metric tons of supplies will leave the kingdom for the Palestinian territories Wednesday, the Jordanian Hashemite Charity Organization Secretary Mohammed Aitan said in a palace statement.

"The shipment is part of Jordan's comprehensive aid program to support the Palestinian people in their current hardships, including an acute shortage of basic commodities," he said.

In coordination with the Palestinian Authority and the U.N. Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East, or UNRWA, seven trucks will go to Gaza and eight to the West Bank, the statement said.

Israel slapped a crippling blockade on Gaza after the Islamist Hamas group seized power there in June, and allows only a minimum of basic supplies into the impoverished costal enclave, where most people depend on international aid.

In the West Bank, hundreds of Israeli army roadblocks severely restrict the mobility of people and goods, according to the U.N.