The European Union (EU) said Tuesday that it would resume financing fuel supply to the sole power plant in the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip from Wednesday "on a provisional basis."
"In an agreement with the Palestinian Authority (PA), the ( European) Commission will resume Wednesday, on a provisional basis, deliveries of fuel to the Gaza Power Plant," the EU said in a statement.
"Following a meeting with Prime Minister Salam Fayyad, the European Commission is willing to carry out immediately the necessary joint Commission/PA audits to ensure that fuel aid in Gaza remains properly managed," said the statement.
It added that the deliveries of fuel to the Gaza power plant was agreed upon with the expectation that any further measures and controls needed following the audit will be put into place immediately.
"The Commission has always done its utmost to provide emergency aid to the Gaza population, and has always acted to ensure that this assistance reaches the people it is addressed to, the Palestinians in need," said the statement.
The European Commission "will be looking carefully with the Palestinian Authority into the audit results and will proceed according to such results," said the statement.
On Sunday, the EU decided to stop financing fuel deliveries for the plant, the only one in the coastal enclave.
The decision to suspend fuel aid led to an electricity cutoff in all Gaza City, as well as the Strip's central and northern areas. Official figures said that more than 600,000 Palestinians remained without electricity this week.
The EU spends 6.5 million euros (9 million U.S. dollars) a month in buying the fuel from the Israeli DOR Oil Company to feed the plant. The EU said it decided to stop paying for the fuel after it received reports that Hamas was siphoning off electricity revenues.
Hamas has denied the reports. Hamas said that it found cases of corruption and wasting of money in the company of Gaza power plant, adding that "this was discovered following intensive investigations."
Gaza power plant supplies electricity to half households of the Gaza Strip, which boasts nearly 1.5 million Palestinians. The other half is supplied by Israeli and Egyptian power grids.
Source: Xinhua
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