Unlike all cars in the besieged Gaza Strip, a converted small French-made Peugeot drives on Gaza City streets without any sound from the engine or smell of cooking oil and gas.
Wassim al-Khozendar, an electric engineer, converted the Peugeot 106 car to run on batteries in a bid to overcome a fuel shortage caused by Israeli blockade imposed on Gaza since one year ago.
When the fuel crisis worsened, drivers of diesel vehicles turned to cooking oil while those who have Benzene cars turned to cooking gas to power their cars, leaving bad smell that forces many people to put masks when walking in the streets.
Wassim and his colleague Fayez Annan say the car has been normally working since more than two weeks. "This way has no environmental dangers ... it prevents the atmosphere from the pollution that the cooking oil causes."
Israel Supreme Court allowed the fuel restrictions in September, saying the move was intended to put pressure on Hamas, which took over the Gaza Strip by force a year ago, to stop its rocket attacks on Israeli communities near the coastal strip.
Converting the car to an electrical one costs 2,500 U.S. dollars, said Wassim, adding that he and his colleague "are seeking to develop the project."
He further explained that the conversion involves a number of batteries, depends on the vehicle's size, can be placed instead of the engine with a control unit placed in front, or near the driver.
"We found out that if the batteries are charged for seven hours, the car will pass 180 kilometers at a speed of 100 km/h," said Wassim, while explaining to a group of curious people near the white car.
"This experience is being applied on the small cars but now we are working to test it on the big cars and the trucks," according to Wassim, who said he takes advantage of his education and the electric store he owns in developing the project.
Wassim's partner, Fayez, said if the new venture succeeds, the Gazans "may be getting along without the petrol which is very expensive and difficult to find here."
He also believed that the tiny, crowded Gaza doesn't need cars with high speed "and that's why we are determined to achieve what we plan to."
Source:Xinhua
|
Comment
Tell A Friend
Print Format
Save Article