[Elder of Ziyon] Egypt again delays fuel shipment from Qatar to Gaza

From AFP:

A delivery of 30 million liters of Qatari fuel, which was to have entered Gaza on Sunday, has been delayed yet again, officials said, prompting an angry reaction from the Palestinian energy authority.

The Hamas-run Gaza Strip has been living through its worst electricity crisis in living memory, with the Qatari shipment expected to help ease the situation.

But Raed Fatuh, head coordinator for the Palestinian Authority at the Kerem Shalom crossing between southern Gaza and Israel, told AFP the delay was the result of "technical issues" on the Egyptian side.

He said delivery of the fuel, which is to be transported through Egypt's Al-Awja crossing and into southern Israel, then into Gaza through Kerem Shalom, would take place on Tuesday.

It was the third such delay in less than three weeks and prompted an angry outburst by the Palestinian Energy and Natural Resources Authority (PENRA), which said the shipment had been sitting in the dock at the Egyptian port of Suez "for a month and a half."

"There has been a change of roles between the Israelis and the Egyptians in suffocating the Palestinian people and continuing the siege on Gaza," a statement posted on the PENRA website said.

"This continued delay in the arrival of the Qatari fuel will extend the electricity crisis in Gaza, especially with summer approaching."

Last month, Israel gave the green light for the fuel to be transferred through its territory after receiving a request from the Egyptians, an Israeli security official said.

The fuel was in Egypt two months ago, but Egypt only requested to transfer it through Israel last month, and Israel approved the shipment.

Proving yet again that Gaza is being blockaded - by (post-revolution) Egypt.

Notice that AFP still cannot figure out that Hamas created the fuel crisis by refusing for months to accept fuel from Israel. Qatar's two month supply is free, showing that Hamas' cynical abuse of its citizens in Gaza pays off.

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Posted By Elder of Ziyon to Elder of Ziyon at 6/03/2012 12:00:00 PM