Gaza left in the dark by Israeli fuel embargo
Gaza City (AsiaNews/Agencies) – Many zones in the Gaza strip were thrown into complete darkness last night after the only power plant in the area shut down because of lack of fuel. Hamas, which holds power in Gaza, has pointed its finger against Israel, which three days ago cut off petrol supplies in response to a series of missiles launched from Gaza targeting Israeli towns. Israel for its part accuses Hamas of having deliberately closing the power plant as part of a “complot” to draw the sympathies of the wider international community.
According to UN data, at least 800 thousand people of the one and a half million inhabitants in the Gaza Strip risk being seriously affected by the embargo. Most at risk are the hospitals which are currently operating on emergency generators. Four hours after the black-out Hamas claimed that lack of electricity had led to the death of 5 patients. But there has been no independent confirmation of the news.
While thousands of Palestinians last night held a candle-light march to protest the embargo, the Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas urged the international community to put pressure on Israel to resume normal supplies and reopen crossings to Gaza.
Shlomo Dror, a spokesman for Israel's defence ministry, insisted the power station had enough fuel to continue functioning. “If they shut it down, it's because they want to create the impression of a crisis”. Dror maintains that the situation in Gaza “is not comfortable, but it is not a humanitarian crises”.
Christopher Gunness, spokesman for UNRWA (the U.N. Relief and Works Agency), has declared that the closure will have a “devastating impact” and that “depriving the people of essential resources …. Is the equivalent of depriving them of their dignity”.
Israeli Cabinet minister Zeev Boim said that rather than condemning Israel, the U.N. should condemn Palestinian militants for firing rocket barrages at Israel.
Israel has effectively blocked all access to Gaza for the past 7 months – since Hamas took control of the Strip eliminating the opposition Fatah linked to Mamoud Abbas – allowing only food ands humanitarian aid through. In attempts to halt the barrage of missiles which rain down on Sderot and other Israeli towns, the army has also launched air raids and ground incursions, but to little effect. Over recent days at least 200 missiles reached Israel, causing dozens of injured. Israeli operations have resulted in the death of 36 militants, as well s countless injured and untold damage among the civilian population.
Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman Arye Meckel said the Gaza Strip continues to receive 70 %of its electricity supply directly from Israel, which would not be affected, and another 5 % from Egypt. The embargo only affects cars and the power plant which produces 30% of energy necessary in Gaza. But this morning Israeli security officials declared that the black-out seems to have had worse consequences than previously forecast.
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12/02/2016 15:14
03/07/2017 09:22
