Jordan gears up to receive, extend treatment to activists

By Mohammad Ben Hussein with agencies

AMMAN - A total of 126 Gaza flotilla activists who were detained by Israel, including 30 Jordanians, were due to cross the King Hussein Bridge early Wednesday into Jordan, officials said.

Jordan offered to secure their repatriation and extend medical treatment to those injured in the Israeli navy attack on their humanitarian aid fleet Monday, upon directives of His Majesty King Abdullah, who strongly denounced the bloody Israeli act.

The assault survivors expected to arrive in the country are from Lebanon, Syria, Algeria, Oman, Mauritania, Pakistan, Indonesia, Malaysia and Azerbaijan.

Secretary General of the Jordan Hashemite Charity Organisation (JHCO) Ahmad Amian was waiting for the group’s arrival, representing the government, at the bridge crossing, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

He told the agency late Tuesday that “Jordan will provide all the necessary care and treatment for the injured who arrive in the Kingdom after surviving the Israeli attack” against the Gaza-bound aid flotilla.

The injured will receive treatment in Jordanian hospitals before their respective embassies send them back to their countries, he told the agency.

Earlier in the day, Minister of State for Media Affairs and Communications and Government Spokesperson Nabil Sharif told Deutsche Presse-Agentur (DPA) that on Tuesday Jordan offered to liaise in the repatriation of hundreds of activists held by Israel after its deadly attack on the aid flotilla, which left at least nine dead.

At least seven countries - Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Oman, Morocco, Algeria and Pakistan - asked Jordan to help return their nationals who were among around 600 people from 32 countries aboard the convoy of ships. “The Foreign Ministry is coordinating with all countries with citizens arrested in Israel to ensure the evacuation of their nationals to Jordan, extend medical treatment to the wounded and arrange for their departure home,” he added.

The government had received assurances that all Jordanians aboard the flotilla were in good health.

Kuwait has 17 nationals, including five women, according to DPA.

King Abdullah had earlier Tuesday instructed the government to start immediately working on transferring those injured by the Israeli naval attack on the international aid flotilla to Jordan to receive treatment.

According to a Royal Court statement, the King ordered the government to coordinate with all countries that had activists on board of convoy in order to bring them to the Kingdom and to ensure their safe arrival in their home countries.

The King also instructed the government to take all necessary measures to ensure the safety of Jordanians who were on board and to bring them back home.

He also urged authorities to dispatch more aid convoys from Jordan to the besieged Gaza Strip loaded with food, medicine and relief assistance through the JHCO, which has been in charge of sending aid to Gaza since the Israeli aggression on the strip began over a year ago.

King Abdullah reiterated Jordan’s strong condemnation and rejection of the Israeli attack against the flotilla, which is a crime and a clear violation of the international law, stressing that the international community should take immediate and serious actions to lift the illegitimate and inhumane blockade on Gaza.

The Monarch also called for launching a transparent international investigation on the crime committed by Israeli authorities against the aid convoy, according to the statement.

His Majesty stressed that the ongoing Israeli occupation of Palestinian lands is the main cause of tension in the region, indicating that the establishment of an independent and viable state for Palestinians on their national soil is the only solution to achieve peace, security and stability in the region, said the statement.

Sharif indicated that the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Bahrain, Oman, Morocco, Algeria and Pakistan have requested their citizens be transferred to Jordan, adding that communications will continue with other countries to ensure their citizens are brought to the Kingdom.

He added that upon Royal directives, the government will send through JHCO aid convoys to Gaza loaded with foodstuff, medicine and humanitarian aid.

Since the Israeli blockade on Gaza started in 2008, JHCO has dispatched 87 aid convoys loaded with over 16,740 tonnes of assistance worth more than $33 million, Sharif said, adding that since 2000, Jordan sent aid to the Palestinian territories worth over $113 million.

Meanwhile, Jordanian activists taking part in the pro-Gaza campaign were “in high spirits”, according to Maysara Malas, president of the professional associations freedoms committee.

Malas received a telephone call from members of Jordan delegation who said Israeli security forces “ill-treated them” during their detention.

“I received a telephone call from Badi Rafaya [president of the professional associations anti-normalisation committee] who said Israeli forces kept them under the scorching heat for hours before placing them under prolonged interrogation,” he told The Jordan Times.

The activists including Salem Falahat, former overall leader of the Muslim Brotherhood, Wael Saqa, former president of the Jordan Engineers Association, and many other key opposition figures, refused to sign a deportation letter by Israel, and thus were kept for a longer period of time.

“The activists who agreed to sign the deportation letters were sent back to their countries immediately, but the Jordanian delegation refused to do so,” Malas said.

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