Israeli groups are aiding Syrian refugees in Jordan and Turkey, MK says

Israeli aid groups are providing “food, medicine, and a lot of help” to Syrian refugees who have fled to Jordan and Turkey, Likud MK Ayoub Kara told AFP Thursday. The Israeli groups have been working under the auspices of European institutions to provide direct aid to the refugees, including children and infants, over the past two months, he said.

“We have found a way, with voluntary organizations from Israel that are now on the borders of Jordan and Turkey with Syria, to provide humanitarian help to the Syrians who are there,” Kara said. “My advisers are also in Jordan to try to find a way to help the refugees in Jordan.”

Kara, a Druze member of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud faction, stressed that the Israelis who are volunteering to aid the Syrians are not representing the government, which, he said, is wary of giving the impression that it is aiding Syrian opposition groups. Instead, they are working with European groups there.

He also said he was working with Jordan and Israel to try to bring wounded Syrian refugees to Israel for treatment, AFP reported.

Some 140,000 Syrian refugees have fled to Jordan since the violent uprising against President Basher Assad began 16 months ago. The country has set up emergency camps to try to provide them with assistance, but the influx has strained Jordan’s resources.