Palestinian officials on Thursday traded accusations on Gaza fuel crisis amid the Israeli decision to reduce petrol deliveries to the Hamas-run territory.
The differences between Hamas and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah party emerged in the debate about the lack of fuel which caused most of the 200 service station in Gaza to close down.
Mujahed Salama, director of petrol association in Ramallah where Abbas' Fatah rules, accused the Gaza-based petrol companies of contributing to the crisis by refusing to receive the reduced amounts of fuel that Israel sends.
"At the storehouses, we have about one million liters of diesel and 300 thousands of liters of gasoline but the problem is with the service stations which went on strike and refused to receive their shares," Salama told reporters.
He admitted that what Israel sends to Gaza was insufficient "but the rejection to obtain the fuel widens the crisis."
Salama said the Palestinian Authority (PA) still builds pressure on Israel, through international humanitarian organizations, to force it withdraw the decision of trimming down Gaza fuel.
Meanwhile, Mahmoud al-Khozendar of the union of Gaza service stations' owners, renewed the decision to stop receiving the fuel since it is not enough.
If it had to cope with the Israeli reduction, the service station would "work one day and stop five days and this is unacceptable," he explained.
In percentage, what Israel sends to Gaza is 30 percent of the daily need, according to al-Khozendar. "We need 350 thousand liters of diesel and they give us 90 thousand."
In September, Israel announced the Gaza Strip a hostile entity due to the rocket attacks from the area and decided to reduce fuel deliveries as part of a package of sanctions.
Source: Xinhua
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