Israel Matzav

Guess who's to blame

Gaza's only power plant ground to a halt again on Friday, only 12 days after being brought back online following a 7 week shutdown due to fuel shortages. The shutdown was announced by Gaza's electricity firm, reports AFP.

An official of the company claimed "the plant stopped working on Friday morning due to a lack of fuel caused by Israel's closure of the Kerem Shalom crossing." He added that electricity would now be supplied for only 6 hours a day instead of the normal 12.

While officials from the territory's Islamist rulers were quick to blame Israel, in reality Egypt is largely involved after having shut down the tunnels into the Sinai that were used to illegally smuggle fuel. Gaza's power plant was initially shut down on November 1 under the Egyptian siege.

Egypt has accused the Hamas terrorist organization which rules Gaza of promoting terror in Egypt through the Muslim Brotherhood, which it is an offshoot of. Hamas denies the charges, although Egypt is continuing to act against the terror group.

As for the Kerem Shalom crossing, it reportedly was closed Tuesday after Gaza terrorists fatally shot an IDF civilian worker. The crossing had been used to deliver fuel purchased from Israel by the Palestinian Authority, using money donated by Qatar.

Labels: Egypt, Gaza blockade, Gaza electricity supply, Gaza plenty

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 6:20 PM