Palestinian efforts to provide the Gaza Strip with fuel have failed which has paralyzed several essential service sectors as Israel extended the closure of the enclave's crossing points, officials said Wednesday.
Israel closed the crossings on Nov. 4 following a fierce surge of violence in which Palestinian militants resumed rocket attacks against Israeli border towns to retaliate a series of army operations that killed 14 fighters.
Mahmoud al-Shawa, head of the petrol stations owners' union, said their appeals and contacts to overcome the crisis, which widened after the cooking gas began to run out, have failed.
"Bakeries and restaurants were shut down and the people are suffering in their houses due to the lack of gas," he said.
Israel also withheld European-funded industrial diesel that goes for the only power station in the territory, forcing the plant, which produces 25 percent of Gaza electricity, to stop since Thursday.
Moreover, overloads damaged some of electricity lines that come directly from Israel. "The current crisis is unprecedented and it affects 1.5 million people," al-Shawa added.
Meanwhile, Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak decided to extend the blockade on the Gaza Strip, citing the continuation of rocket-fire from the Hamas-controlled Strip.
The recent violence and the crossings' sealing off rocked an Egyptian-brokered ceasefire between Hamas and Israel. The agreement calls on Israel to open the crossing points in exchange for halting the rocket attacks.
Source: Xinhua
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