Jordanian activists defer sending ship to Gaza until mid-January

Dec 21, 2008, 13:55 GMT

Amman - A Jordanian plan to send humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip has been delayed until January so that it does not conflict with the Christmas and New Year holidays.

The Islamic Action Front (IAF), Jordan's largest political party, had planned to send the ship on Thursday, which is Christmas Day, in an attempt at 'breaking the siege' Israel has imposed on the Gaza Strip.

However, European lawmakers and other activists who agreed to be on board the ship when it sails from the Red Sea port of Aqaba asked to be given time 'to celebrate Christmas and New Year.'

'We decided to defer the dispatch of the ship, which was set for Thursday, until the middle of January in response to a request by European participants in the mission,' IAF Secretary General Zaki Bani Ershaid told Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa.

Ershaid also conceded that the project was facing 'logistical and administrative problems'.

He said that the committee in charge of arrangements had not received unequivocal permission from the Jordanian government. However, he described the attitude of the authorities as 'positive.'

'I believe there is no problem from the government's side and that the delay was mainly procedural,' the IAF chief said.

In addition to the IAF, the political arm of the influential Muslim Brotherhood movement, supporters of the mission include activists from trade unions and opposition parties.