JORDAN HASHEMITE CHARITY ORGANIZATION HEAD

UNCLAS AMMAN 000128 SENSITIVE SIPDIS FOR NEA/ELA AND NEA/IPA E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: ECON EAID PHUM KWBG IS JO SUBJECT: JORDAN HASHEMITE CHARITY ORGANIZATION HEAD DESCRIBES EFFORTS TO SUPPORT GAZANS ¶1. (SBU) The Jordan Hashemite Charitable Organization (JHCO),which has become the semi-official conduit from Jordan to Gaza, is now sending 15 truckloads five days a week containing a variety of aid. The organization's spokesman offered a brief history of the JHCO's role in past humanitarian emergencies and described the mechanism by which donations are delivered. ¶2. (SBU) JHCO spokesman Muhammad Nasser Al-Kilani said the organization has become a clearing house for most if not all Jordanian individual, corporate, non-governmental, and governmental donations to Gaza. The JHCO also facilitates international donations to Gaza, said Kilani, noting that he has met with three other embassies in past days and has just started working to facilitate the transfer of donations by Indonesian NGOs. According to Jordan's state-run news agency, on January 13 the Foreign Ministry met with the European Troika ambassadors accredited to Jordan to discuss ways to coordinate between Jordan and the EU on delivering humanitarian aid to Gaza. Also of note, the Speaker of the Iranian parliament, Ali Larijani - who made a rare visit to Jordan last week - said on January 10 that regional countries can send their humanitarian aid to Gaza through Jordan. ¶3. (SBU) In-kind donations are first screened for quality and then loaded onto trucks, Kilani said. Trucks transfer their goods at the King Hussein/Allenby Bridge crossing into the West Bank to an Israeli contractor. Goods then undergo security screening and are driven to one of several crossings between Israel and Gaza, where they are then transferred to UNRWA vehicles. Up until now, UNRWA has not rejected any of the aid, said Kilani, who noted that he accommodates all requests from Gaza. For instance, a request came in last week seeking a dialysis machine; three were then delivered on January 11, in addition to an ICU ventilator. (Note: According to the Palestinian RefCord in Jerusalem, UNRWA has reported that JHCO has been effective in bringing in high-quality in-kind goods that match up with UNRWA's priorities. End Note.) ¶4. (SBU) The number of daily truckloads to Gaza has increased to 15 to accommodate the high volume of collected donations. Items being sent include medicine, flour, water, cooking oil, rice, sugar, tea, canned tuna and sardines, plasma, and blood, Kilani said. While the spokesman said that the JHCO maintained an overall list of aid to Gaza, he declined to provide it to PolOffs without proper clearances. Shipments of blood and plasma that must be kept at stable temperatures, are sent via the Karni border crossing, which is a more direct route, Kilani said. (Note: Most of the rest of the aid goes through the Israeli Kerem Shalom/Kerem Abu Salem Gaza crossing. End Note.) ¶5. (SBU) The Jordanian media has written extensively on aid to Gaza from Jordan, though it is hard to determine precisely how much has been sent. President of the General Federation of Trade Unions Mazen Ma'ayteh told PolOffs that, with the help of JHCO, 17 trade unions have raised JD500,000 (USD700,000) for Gaza and collected items, which are being transported on Royal Jordanian (RJ) flights. In addition to the daily truck convoys, press reports this week indicated that the JHCO has sent 8.5 tons of aid via air transport in cooperation with RJ through El Arish airport in Egypt. Ambulances donated by RJ and the Jordan Construction Contractors Association were also transported. In response to the Gaza support campaign launched by the Ministry of Social Development, donations collected by Jordanian charitable societies between January 2 and January 9 totaled 350 tons of assistance items, in addition to cash donations of JD200,000 (USD 280,000),according to the Jordan Times. ¶6. (SBU) The JHCO is run by former Public Security Directorate Chief Majed Al-Eitan, who serves as Secretary-General. Prince Rashed Bin Al-Hassan is Chairman of the Board. It was established in September 2002 by Royal Decree. According to Kilani, the organization's operating budget (administration and shipping) is paid for by a trust fund and wealthy philanthropists, and thus all 100 percent of donations are delivered in full to their intended recipients. Visit Amman's Classified Web Site at http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/nea/amman/ Beecroft