Wednesday, February 15, 2012

Gaza power plant shuts down due to shortage of smuggled fuel from Egypt

Bad, bad Egyptians - putting unbearable strains on poor, struggling people of Gaza, bringing them to the brink of the humanitarian catastrophe. And nobody cares.
GAZA CITY (Reuters) - The Gaza Strip's only power station, which supplies the Palestinian enclave with up to two-thirds of its energy needs, was shut down on Tuesday because of a shortage of fuel from neighboring Egypt.

The closure led to widespread blackouts for Gaza's 1.7 million inhabitants. The local power company warned that households would receive only six hours of electricity a day until the problem was resolved.

Gaza's Energy Authority said "measures taken" on the Egyptian side of the border meant not enough fuel was entering the territory.

It did not provide further details. Some local experts said Hamas had mismanaged Gaza's power needs by failing to provide a viable alternative to the precarious tunnels under Gaza's border with Egypt.

More...