Posted on 04/01/2009 6:42:45 PM PDT by forkinsocket
AMMAN - The Islamist movement has suspended humanitarian aid collection for Gaza as donations have slowed down to a trickle, an official from the Muslim Brotherhood said today.
"Regrettably, we decided this week to stop receiving donations from the public after we noticed that a very small number of people are contributing to our campaign across the Kingdom," said Kathem Ayesh, who is responsible for the Palestine file at the Muslim Brotherhood.
"It is no longer practical to keep our tents open since we are receiving very little amounts of donations," said Ayesh, who blamed lack of participation on faltering talks in Cairo between Hamas and Fateh, where both parties are hoping to form a unity government that will undertake Gaza's reconstruction.
Ayesh told The Jordan Times that the Muslim Brotherhood has sent 1,000 tonnes of humanitarian aid to Gaza through the Jordan Hashemite Charity Organisation.
"We sent tonnes of food items such as rice, sugar, oil, cereals as well as medical supplies and other necessities," said Ayesh, noting the Islamist group "remains committed towards helping Gazans in their plight".
"We have not abandoned this file, but we are now awaiting the outcome of the talks between Hamas and Fateh like rest of the world. Hopefully the result will be positive. But if talks fail, we will relaunch the campaign across the Kingdom," he said.
Ayesh added that the Islamist movement continues to support civil society efforts to reconstruct Gaza, including a campaign by the Jordan Engineers Association (JEA) which recently set up a commission to raise the funds needed for reconstruction.
JEA President Wael Saqqa said efforts are ongoing to help the reconstruction of Gaza despite obstacles created by Israel and Egypt on border crossings leading to the coastal enclave.
Gaza was subjected to a 22-day offensive by Israel in January which killed 1,330 and injured thousands. Most of the city's infrastructure, including hospitals, schools and thousands of homes, were destroyed during the onslaught.
Bush’s fault....bad economy...terrorists and jihadists hardest hit...
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