Israeli authorities on Monday closed the Kerem Shalom and Erez crossings with the Gaza Strip for the Jewish holiday of Rosh Hashanah, Palestinian officials said. The Palestinian Borders and Crossings department in Gaza said the crossings will be closed on Monday and Tuesday. The Kerem Shalom crossing in southern Gaza is a vital entry point for goods into the coastal territory, with the two day closure expected to exacerbate an ongoing fuel crisis. Erez is the only land crossing between Gaza and Israel, although travel is heavily limited by Israeli authorities. Due to severe fuel shortages, Gaza's sole power plant has been regularly operating at approximately half of its capacity (60 out of 120 megawatts) or below, and has been forced to shut down for long periods on several occasions. The plant requires 550,000 liters of fuel per day to produce at capacity, the energy authority says, although it has rarely been able to reach that amount, mostly due to the Israeli blockade which has limited fuel imports since 2007.
