Israel resumes fuel shipments to Gaza

By Nour Abu Aisha

GAZA CITY, Palestine

Israel allowed the entry of fuel shipments, including Qatar-funded fuel, into the blockaded Gaza Strip on Wednesday, according to a Palestinian official.

“Qatar-funded fuel trucks began to enter Gaza today,” the official, who works on the Palestinian side of the Kerem Shalom crossing, said on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to media.

He said four trucks of Qatar-funded fuel are scheduled to be allowed into the Palestinian territory on Wednesday.

“Six other fuel trucks will cross into the strip today,” he added.

On Tuesday, Israeli Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman allowed fuel shipments into Gaza upon recommendations from security agencies, according to the Israeli Broadcasting Corporation.

Ten days ago, Lieberman ordered a halt to fuel shipments into Gaza, citing violence along with the Gaza Strip.

Earlier this month, Israeli newspaper Haaretz reported that an agreement with Qatar was reached in recent weeks to finance the purchase of fuel for Gaza’s power plant.

Since 2007, when Palestinian group Hamas seized the Gaza Strip from rival faction Fatah, the coastal enclave has groaned under an Israeli blockade that has deprived its two million inhabitants of many basic commodities.