Posted on 04/11/2002 11:40:43 AM PDT by Thinkin' Gal
Jordan's King Abdullah II carries a box of aid donated by Jordanians and Jordanian organizations for Palestinians, to a helicopter bound to the occupied territories, as Queen Rania, left, waits her turn, at a military airport in Amman, Thursday April 11, 2002. This is the third Jordanian shipment of aid since last Monday comprising of food, medicine and blood units. Jordan is the only country that has been allowed so far by the Israeli authorities to dispatch relief aid to the West Bank. (AP Photo/Yussef Allan/HO/ Royal Palace)
Jordanian royal family joins Palestinian relief effort as millions of dollars pour in from around the region to aid Palestinian cause
Thu Apr 11, 2:26 PM ET
By JAMAL HALABY, Associated Press Writer
AMMAN, Jordan - Jordan's king and queen helped load five helicopters with food and medicine in one of many Palestinian aid campaigns across the Arab world on Thursday.
After several hours of waiting, Israel gave permission for one helicopter to fly to the West Bank on Thursday night, but it did not take off because its designated landing site had no lights, a senior aide to King Abdullah II said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
The helicopter was likely to fly Friday to Ramallah, the town where Israeli troops have confined Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat (news - web sites) to a few rooms in his headquarters, the aide said.
Israeli Embassy spokesman Jacob Raber said Thursday that Israel was "doing its best to let the aid to the Palestinians cross into the West Bank."
The air lift would be Jordan's third supply of humanitarian goods to the West Bank in three days.
The king and Queen Rania — both dressed in mourning black — each carried at least three cartons to the military helicopters at Amman's Marka Air Base. Then they chatted with officials of the International Committee of the Red Cross and other humanitarian organizations involved in the air lift. Reporters were kept at bay.
Government officials declined to disclose the quantity of Thursday's aid, but said it was mainly medicine.
Abdullah told U.N. and nongovernment organizations Wednesday that Jordan had faced difficulties in getting the supplies to Israel.
"We are not getting a carte blanche from the Israelis, but we keep hammering on at them," he said.
He said Jordan was the first country to "open up an air bridge" to the West Bank. He said unnamed Arab countries were pouring in aid to Jordan for the Palestinians.
Abdullah predicted that once Israel ends the military offensive on the West Bank, "we are going to be on the verge of dealing with a catastrophe there."
On Tuesday, Jordan flew some 1,000 blood units to the besieged West Bank town of Ramallah. The same day, 14 trucks carrying some 280 tons of food and medical supplies drove across a Jordan River bridge into the West Bank.
More blood and medicine was sent on Wednesday when Jordan also dispatched a 25-member medical team to set up field hospitals in the West Bank towns of Nablus and Jenin.
In Saudi Arabia, national television began an 11-hour telethon Thursday afternoon that aims to raise millions of dollars for the Palestinians. The show started with a broadcast of Israelis shelling Palestinian camps and demolishing buildings during their current offensive in the West Bank.
The ruling family inaugurated a fund-raising campaign Monday, with King Fahd, Crown Prince Abdullah and Defense Minister Prince Sultan donating a combined 18 million riyals (dlrs 4.85 million).
Fahd ordered urged Saudis, expatriates and private companies to contribute generously to the fund, set up by the Saudi Committee for the Support of Al-Quds Intefadeh (uprising).
Members of the unelected Consultative Council have pledged half their April salaries. In Egypt, Suzanne Mubarak, the wife of President Hosni Mubarak (news - web sites), has launched a campaign to raise 2 million Egyptian pounds for the Palestinians (dlrs 440,000). Members of both houses of parliament have donated a month's salary to the Palestinians.
An Egyptian convoy of medical supplies for the Palestinians crossed into the Gaza Strip (news - web sites) on Wednesday.
In Cairo, Palestinian Cabinet Minister Nabil Shaath thanked Arabs for giving to the various popular campaigns Thursday. Speaking after receiving a check for dlrs 15.4 million from the Saudi representative to the Arab League, Shaath said it would cost an estimated "hundreds of millions of dollars" to repair and rebuild what had been wrecked in the Israeli offensive.
The Saudi check covered the country's aid pledges to the Palestinians over the past two months.
In Qatar, national television reported that Wednesday night's six-hour telethon raised more than dlrs 8.2 million, including dlrs 4.6 million from the ruling family.
Viewers in the tiny peninsular state in the Gulf called in to donate automobiles, jewelry and gold, the television said.
In neighboring Bahrain, the king, Sheik Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, called U.S. President George W. Bush (news - web sites) on Thursday, urging him to redouble his efforts to bring a halt to Israel's offensive, the official Bahrain News Agency reported.
The king also told Bush he was gratified by the president's call for Israel to withdraw immediately from the recently occupied Palestinian towns and cities, the agency said.
Waves of demonstrations have swept across the Arab world since the offensive began on March 29. Many have resulted in clashes with local security forces who endeavored to confine the protesters to university campuses or keep them away from the U.S. and Israeli embassies.
A total of four people have died in the clashes, one each in Egypt, Bahrain, Jordan and Yemen.
In Jordan, the violence prompted an emotional appeal from the king who told the nation: "Only a strong Jordan would be able to help its Palestinian brethren."
On Thursday, scores of advertisements appeared in Jordanian newspapers in which people reaffirmed their loyalty to King Abdullah.
"We renew our allegiance to your great leadership and we will remain your faithful soldiers and loyal sons," said an advertisement signed by Mohammed Kassab, a senior figure of a Palestinian refugee camp.
Now that the Red Cross has been found stealing money from Americans to give to the Taliban,
how much of the 1 billion dollars has gone to the Palestinian terrorists?
Thinking minds want to know.
I bet you're right, too. She is hot toot though.
See - were being good, were giving to our poor brothers in the West Bank. Please don't rise up and force us to slaughter another 70,000 of you!
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