By Omar Obeidat

AMMAN –– His Majesty King Abdullah donated blood for Palestinians in the Gaza Strip on Monday and directed urgent medical aid to Gazans, sending an on-field military hospital to the besieged coastal enclave, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported yesterday.

The King urged citizens to do their part and donate blood, according to Petra.

“This is the least and most simple thing we can provide our brothers in Gaza. We are all outraged in Jordan,” the King told reporters after donating blood at the King Hussein Medical Centre, stressing the close ties between Jordanian and the Palestinian people.

“Our duty now is to stop the Israeli aggression against our brothers in Gaza as soon as possible,” the Monarch added.

Under the King’s directives, the national blood drive to support Palestinians in the Gaza Strip continued for the third day as hundreds of people queued at the Professional Associations Complex in Shmeisani to donate blood.

“This is the least we can do to help our brothers in Gaza,” said 19-year-old university student Monqeth Abdul Hamid, who, along with three other friends, came to the Professional Associations Complex to donate blood, indicating that his family members will be donating as well.

Fathi Abu Nassar of the Professional Associations Council said more than 700 people are coming to various locations in Amman every day to donate blood.

One donor, who preferred to remain unnamed, stressed that she was willing to wait all day in order to donate blood.

Osama Ali, who had been waiting since 8:00am, shared her sentiments.

“This is our duty to support our families and brothers in Gaza,” the 24-year-old Amman lawyer told The Jordan Times in the afternoon.

Nidal Irshaid, head of the Health Ministry’s National Blood Bank, said bank cadres have collected more than 600 blood units in Amman on Monday and around 1,600 units over the past two days.

“There are more than 300 people waiting outside the blood bank now and we will stay until midnight to accommodate them,” he added.

The official said that in addition to the three major branches in Amman, the blood bank has locations in other cities: Two in Irbid, one in Zarqa and another in Karak. Between 250-350 people donated blood in Irbid and Zarqa, he added.

“These blood units will be at the disposal of our brothers in Gaza,” Irshaid stressed, adding that a total of 2,000 blood units arrived in Gaza yesterday.

Meanwhile, the We are All Jordan Commission, among others, launched a three-day blood donation campaign in Zarqa.

30 December 2008