[Jerusalem Post] Yaakov Lappin and Mark Weiss - Israel plans to transfer fuel supplies to Gaza via the Nahal Oz depot within the "next couple of days," a government official said Saturday night. Israel dismissed as "Hamas spin" Palestinian claims that fuel was running low and that electricity supplies in Gaza would have to be cut. The IDF said 2,200,000 liters of diesel fuel and fuel oil is transferred to the Gaza power plant every week. Col. Nir Press, head of the IDF's Coordination and Liaison Administration at the Erez crossing with Gaza, said: "In the past two weeks, we have seen Palestinian activity aimed at instigating a crisis in the fuel sector through planned strikes and protests. The closed fuel stations in Gaza and the long lines of vehicles and people waiting long hours to fill their cars are the product of Hamas activity and a planned media campaign, which comes at the expense of local residents." "For the past two weeks, fuel on the Palestinian side of Nahal Oz could have been distributed to gas stations, but this has not happened....As of today, 188,000 liters of gasoline and over 800,000 liters of diesel fuel are sitting on the Palestinian side....Hamas is deliberately harming civilians in Gaza by refusing to allow the fuel to be distributed to gas stations for humanitarian needs."
2008-04-14 01:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive