VZCZCXRO6743
PP RUEHBC RUEHDE RUEHKUK RUEHROV
DE RUEHAM #0128 0141410
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 141410Z JAN 09
FM AMEMBASSY AMMAN
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 4173
INFO RUEHEE/ARAB LEAGUE COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUEHJA/AMEMBASSY JAKARTA PRIORITY 0129
RUEHBS/USEU BRUSSELS PRIORITY

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