Sunday, August 19, 2007

Gaza power station stops functioning


"GAZA, (PIC)-- The sole power station in Gaza Strip stopped functioning as of 11.00 am local time Sunday due to the lack of fuel supplies provided by Israel, the station's administration announced in a press release.

The statement said that the administration made contacts with concerned parties and that Israel affirmed that security reasons for halting fuel supplies over the past three days were over. Israel said that it informed the EU, which pays the price of the fuel, in order to resume supplies but the EU said it would not pay anymore for those provisions and did not explain the reason, the statement explained.

It said that the electricity cutoff would affect one third of the Gaza 1.5 million population and could lead to halting work in hospitals, sewerage stations and water wells, and underlined that the stoppage could also disrupt and possibly damage the electricity generators.

The statement said that the Gaza power station should be spared political rivalry.

Saadi Al-Kuranz, the secretary of the illegal Salam Fayyad government, had claimed that the executive force in Gaza was stealing the station's fuel. The allegation was refuted by sources in the station that said the fuel could not be used for any other purpose.

Kuranz, according to Palestinian sources, was exerting persistent efforts in a bid to cut off electricity supply to Gaza to pressure Hamas Movement."

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