CAIRO: Despite Egypt cutting of a large portion of its delivery of fuel to Palestinians in Gaza, small amounts of Israeli fuel have been trucked into the small Mediterranean territory on Friday to help ease the ongoing energy crisis. Gazans told Bikyamasr.com on Saturday morning that it won't be enough to be sustainable, “but it helps get us out of darkness.” Khan Yunis resident Ahmed Bora'i told Bikyamasr.com via telephone that he was “disappointed” in the Egyptian decision because “I had hoped that because of the new government and the changes made last year, Gaza would be able to count on Egypt for help, but we were wrong.” The shipment however did not meet Gaza's total energy needs for even one day, one official said, and the territory still lack a reliable fuel supply. Gaza's fuel pinch highlights the difficulties its cash-strapped, internationally isolated Hamas rulers face in administering the territory. Brig. Gen. Nazmi Muhana, head of the Palestinian Authority border agency in the West Bank, and Israeli military spokesman Maj. Guy Inbar said 450,000 liters (120,000 gallons) of diesel fuel entered through an Israeli crossing. Gaza health official Adham Abu Salmia said the supplies were enough to power the territory's only electricity plant for a single day. “This is no solution,” Abu Salmia said, noting that no fuel had arrived to power cars, trucks or hospitals' backup generators. Ambulance and fire services were still facing severe gas shortages, he added. The fuel was purchased from Israel by the West Bank-based Palestinian Authority, which claims control of Gaza but in effect has had no influence there since Hamas militants overran the territory in 2007. BM ShortURL: http://goo.gl/3T9xi Tags: Egypt, Electricity, featured, Fuel, Gaza, Israel Section: Egypt, Latest News, Levant, Palestine
