03/18/2012 17:36
Hamas and Egypt traded allegations Sunday over which party was responsible for the electricity crisis in the Gaza Strip.
The crisis began a few weeks ago when Egypt cut off fuel supplies for electricity production in the Gaza Strip, shutting down the only power plant and enforcing 18-hour blackouts per day.
The fuel shortage has also resulted in severe shortage of gas for cooking and heating, forcing Palestinians to rely on wood fires as an alternative.
Hamas officials accused Egypt of "political extortion" because of insistence on supplying fuel to the Gaza Strip through Israel.
Until recently, fuel had been smuggled into the Gaza Strip through cross-border underground tunnels from Egypt.
Last month, the Hamas government announced that it had paid Egypt $2 million for fuel, but that the Egyptians did not fulfill their promise to resume supplies.
Under a deal reached between the two sides recently, the Hamas government was supposed to purchase fuel from Egypt.
According to the agreement, the Gaza Strip's electricity grid would be connected to Egypt and the Palestinian power opulent would start using gas instead of diesel.
Yusef Rizka, political advisor to the Hamas prime minister, accused Egypt of using the fuel crisis for "political extortion."
He said that Egypt's insistence of supplying fuel to the Gaza Strip only through Israel was designed to "force Hamas to succumb."
Rizka said that the Egyptian demand was both "illegal and arbitrary."
Egypt's General Intelligence Service was playing a major role in creating the crisis, he charged. He said that Egypt's refusal to supple fuel to the Gaza Strip despite receiving a downpayment of $2 million "raises many questions" as to the Egyptian's true intentions.
Mohammed Asqoul, secretary-general of the Hamas government in the Gaza Strip, openly blamed the Egyptian intelligence service of being behind the electricity crisis.
He said that the Egyptian demand to supply fuel through Israel was "completely unacceptable" to Palestinians for political, technical and administrative reasons.
Asqoul called on the Egyptian government and parliament to put pressure on their intelligence service to allow the fuel supplies to the Gaza Strip through the Rafah border crossing, where there is no Israeli presence.
In response to the Hamas allegations, a spokesman for the Egyptian government said that Palestinians in the Gaza Strip were not naive and that they know that the Hamas government is responsible for the electricity crisis.
He said that although Egypt was suffering from a shortage of fuel supplies, it was nevertheless working hard to help solve the crisis in the Gaza Strip by upgrading and rehabilitating the Palestinian power plant.
The Egyptian spokesman called on Hamas to stop exploiting the crisis and suffering of Palestinians and to protect them from "mafias" that were involved in smuggling fuel through underground tunnels, a fact which, he added, led to a rise in the price of diesel.
The crisis began a few weeks ago when Egypt cut off fuel supplies for electricity production in the Gaza Strip, shutting down the only power plant and enforcing 18-hour blackouts per day.
The fuel shortage has also resulted in severe shortage of gas for cooking and heating, forcing Palestinians to rely on wood fires as an alternative.
Hamas officials accused Egypt of "political extortion" because of insistence on supplying fuel to the Gaza Strip through Israel.
Until recently, fuel had been smuggled into the Gaza Strip through cross-border underground tunnels from Egypt.
Last month, the Hamas government announced that it had paid Egypt $2 million for fuel, but that the Egyptians did not fulfill their promise to resume supplies.
Under a deal reached between the two sides recently, the Hamas government was supposed to purchase fuel from Egypt.
According to the agreement, the Gaza Strip's electricity grid would be connected to Egypt and the Palestinian power opulent would start using gas instead of diesel.
Yusef Rizka, political advisor to the Hamas prime minister, accused Egypt of using the fuel crisis for "political extortion."
He said that Egypt's insistence of supplying fuel to the Gaza Strip only through Israel was designed to "force Hamas to succumb."
Rizka said that the Egyptian demand was both "illegal and arbitrary."
Egypt's General Intelligence Service was playing a major role in creating the crisis, he charged. He said that Egypt's refusal to supple fuel to the Gaza Strip despite receiving a downpayment of $2 million "raises many questions" as to the Egyptian's true intentions.
Mohammed Asqoul, secretary-general of the Hamas government in the Gaza Strip, openly blamed the Egyptian intelligence service of being behind the electricity crisis.
He said that the Egyptian demand to supply fuel through Israel was "completely unacceptable" to Palestinians for political, technical and administrative reasons.
Asqoul called on the Egyptian government and parliament to put pressure on their intelligence service to allow the fuel supplies to the Gaza Strip through the Rafah border crossing, where there is no Israeli presence.
In response to the Hamas allegations, a spokesman for the Egyptian government said that Palestinians in the Gaza Strip were not naive and that they know that the Hamas government is responsible for the electricity crisis.
He said that although Egypt was suffering from a shortage of fuel supplies, it was nevertheless working hard to help solve the crisis in the Gaza Strip by upgrading and rehabilitating the Palestinian power plant.
The Egyptian spokesman called on Hamas to stop exploiting the crisis and suffering of Palestinians and to protect them from "mafias" that were involved in smuggling fuel through underground tunnels, a fact which, he added, led to a rise in the price of diesel.
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