With financial donations from Turkey and Qatar to buy diesel fuel for Gaza’s only power plant having ended, and Hamas leaders refusing to pay for fuel, the coastal enclave’s Health Ministry said lives will be in danger.

By Daniel Siryoti and Israel Hayom Staff

Gaza is bracing for a severe energy crisis after donor funds from Qatar and Turkey — used to purchase diesel fuel for the coastal enclave’s lone power plant — have run out.

According to the Hamas-controlled Energy Authority in Gaza, it no longer has the funds to buy more diesel fuel and pay the requisite taxes, which are levied by the Palestinian Authority in Ramallah.

IDF Maj. Gen. Yoav Mordechai, the head of the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories unit, warned that fuel for the power station in Gaza would likely run out Friday.

The Health Ministry in Gaza, under the control of Hamas, said lives were in danger due to rolling power cuts in an attempt to conserve fuel.

In January 2017, Turkey pledged to send 15,000 tons of diesel fuel to Gaza to operate the power station. The emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, met with Hamas’ then-politburo deputy chief Ismail Haniyeh and promised to transfer $12 million to the Palestinian Energy Authority in Ramallah to purchase the large quantities of diesel fuel needed to run the Gaza power station.

In the past, long power outages have sparked public outcry in Gaza. Much of the blame has been aimed at the Palestinian Authority but Hamas has also been criticized, despite the fact that demonstrations in Gaza against Hamas have been outlawed by the terrorist organization.

Beyond the one power plant, Gaza’s 2 million residents also rely on electricity imports from Israel and Egypt.

View original Israel Hayom publication at:
http://www.israelhayom.com/site/newsletter_article.php?id=41761