Syrian Medical Aid Arrives in Gaza
Sep 23, 2010
www.sana.sy/eng/22/2010/09/23/309164.htm

Gaza, (SANA)-The medical aid, medicine and milk offered by the Syrian people
to the Palestinians in Gaza arrived in the Strip on Thursday.

The 45-ton aid shipment is intended to alleviate the suffering of the
Palestinians in Gaza as a result of the Israeli siege on the Strip. The
delegation accompanying the ship handed over the aid to the Palestinian Red
Crescent which in turn delivered it to the Palestinian Health Ministry.

The delegation accompanying the ship consists of representatives of the
Teachers' Syndicate, Artists' Union, The Women's Union, the Syrian Red
Crescent Organization, the Syndicates of the Engineers, Lawyers, Doctors and
Dentists, the Revolution Youth Union, General Trade Union and a media
delegation.

In a statement to SANA, Prime Minister of the relieved Palestinian
government Ismail Haniyeh said that the diversity of the Syrian delegation
accompanying the aid ship affirms the firm and deep-rooted Syrian national
stance towards the Palestinian cause.

Haniyeh saluted on behalf of the Palestinian people and the relieved
Palestinian government President Bashar al-Assad, the leadership and people
of Syria, and the Palestinian refugees in Syria who await their return to
their lands.

He valued the visit of the delegation and the support it relays from the
Syrian people to the people of Gaza who still live under siege and daily
Israeli threats, lauding the firm and principal Syrian stance in support of
Arab rights and just and comprehensive peace.

During his meeting with the Syrian delegation, Haniyeh affirmed that the
Palestinian people in Gaza Strip are committed to their land and their
resilience in the face of the Israeli unjust siege and threats, stressing
that just and comprehensive peace cannot be achieved without the return of
all Arab lands and occupied lands to their rightful owners, particularly the
Syrian Golan, the Palestinian territories, and the remaining parts of
southern Lebanon.

For his part, head of the Syrian delegation, head of the Teachers' Syndicate
Ziad Mohsen affirmed Syria's support of the Palestinian people in restoring
their rights and establishing an independent state with Jerusalem as its
capital.

Mohsen stressed Syria's commitment under the leadership of President Bashar
al-Assad to providing all types of aid to the people of the besieged Strip
in order to alleviate the suffering they experience.

In a statement to SANA, Director General of the Palestinian Red Crescent in
Gaza Strip Khaled Joudeh said that the Syrian aid that was delivered
contains most of the needs of Gaza's hospitals which suffer a critical lack
of medicine and equipment, lauding the remarkable support provided by Syria
under the leadership of President Bashar al-Assad.

The remaining 605-ton food and relief aid carried by the ship is to arrive
later in coordination between the Syrian Red Crescent and the Egyptian Red
Crescent. The ship finished unloading the 650-ton aid on Wednesday at
al-Arish port, coming from Tartous port.

Manal Ismael / Mazen / H. Sabbagh