[Ha'aretz] Barak Ravid and Avi Issacharoff - Hamas seizes half the fuel Israel sends to Gaza and uses it in part for its military vehicles, Israeli and PA officials said Thursday. Hussein al-Sheikh, a PA official, said Hamas seizes 400,000 of the 800,000 liters of diesel fuel transferred to Gaza weekly and intended for uses such as generators, hospitals, water pumps and sewage pumps. Israeli sources said Hamas was preventing gasoline from reaching Gaza gas stations. "Hamas is trying to create a false fuel crisis in Gaza," a senior government source said. "The simulated strike by Gaza's gas station owners is also organized by Hamas. They want to create long lines for gas and a feeling that Israel is tightening the siege on Gaza, although this is not the case," he said. In addition, Hamas is trying to create the impression of a food shortage, although food supplies were sufficient.
2008-04-11 01:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive