Egypt’s ambassador to the Palestinian Authority said the country will provide fuel to operate Giza’s power plant and denied any conflicts within the Egyptian government on the issue, state news agency MENA reported Monday.
Technical talks are underway between Egyptian and Palestinian officials on the method of providing fuel legally to Gaza, Egyptian Ambassador Yasser Othman said.
The fuel will be sold to the strip at a price that citizens in Gaza can afford, he added, and should arrive in a few days.
Egypt increased the amount of energy provided to Gaza from 17 to 22 megawatts two weeks ago, after the sole power plant in Gaza remained closed for the third consecutive week due to fuel shortage.
The power plant alone requires more than 400,000 liters of fuel daily to generate around 80 megawatts. Other energy needs in Gaza require 100,000 liters of gasoline, diesel and fuel oil.
Power outages typically last for almost 16 hours daily. Gaza districts get electricity alternately for only six hours.
A 2-day-old sit-in at the Egyptian Embassy, organized by the Hamas movement, continued on Monday, calling for the Egyptian government to supply more fuel and help alleviate the energy crisis in the territory.
On Friday, Ismail Haniya, head of the resigned Palestinian government in Gaza, publicly criticized Egypt for the first time for its hesitancy in providing Gaza with the badly needed fuel.
Such remarks were the first of their kind since the toppling of former President Hosni Mubarak, who, along with Israel, enforced sanctions on the 1.5 million Palestinians living in the strip.
