On Saturday deliveries of fuel that had been purchased from Egypt were reduced by between 33 and 50 percent, according to Gaza’s power authority, which accused the Palestinian Authority of freezing its bank transfers to Egypt which had been paying for the recent deliveries through Gaza’s southern border.
The Egyptian fuel was used by the Strip’s only plant after Israel had stopped its deliveries, also because of PA interference.
And if that was not enough, someone cut the Egyptian power lines which used to provide up to 28 megawatts to Gaza, according to the Gaza Electricity Distribution Corporation.
The severe cuts in electricity supplies took place just as PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas was arriving in Cairo on Saturday for talks with President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi.
According to the state-owned agency MENA, El-Sisi and Abbas are discussing “ongoing diplomatic efforts being made to preserve the importance of the Palestinian cause, along with the accelerating US efforts that aim to create peace through a two-state solution.”
According to Ma’an, El-Sisi supports “political and diplomatic efforts aimed at mobilizing international support for the Palestinian position aimed at stopping Israeli practices in the Palestinian territories, particularly the accelerated settlement activities, which are the most dangerous to the future of the peace process.”
Apparently, the folks in Gaza can go without their refrigerators, as long as somebody does something about those pesky settlements.
Speaking of those pesky Israelis, according to the Hamas-run electric company, as of Saturday, the total power supply available in Gaza dropped to just 93 megawatts – 70 megawatts of which were being provided by Israel, 23 by Gaza’s power plant, which, was down to one operating generator, what with the PA freezing payments and the Egyptians stopping fuel deliveries.
These developments are the result of Abbas moving in a hurry to block the growing alliance between Hamas and Egypt—there was a Hamas delegation in Cairo early last week.
Meanwhile, the Egyptians were less than delighted with the attack near Rafah, on Gaza’s border, which killed and injured 26 Egyptian soldiers. Hence the renewed love found between Abbas and El-Sisi.
A poll conducted in early July found that as many as 47% of Gazans would like to emigrate, please. Perhaps now is the time to start sending boats?