Tags
The only power plant in the Hamas-run Gaza Strip was at a standstill on Tuesday due to an ongoing shortage of fuel caused largely by a dispute over taxes, officials said.
The plant has been closed since Saturday night when it ran out of fuel, said Ahmed Abu Al-Amreen, an official in the energy ministry.
Parts of the strip have been without power for 20 hours a day, the United Nations said, up from 12 hours previously.
The Palestinian Authority in Ramallah has gradually removed a tax exemption on fuel since January, demanding Hamas pay taxes on imports to besieged Gaza.
The cash-stripped Gaza energy authorities estimate the tax costs around 10 million shekels ($2.6 million) monthly and say they cannot afford it.
Relations between Islamist movement Hamas and the PA, which is dominated by bitter rivals Fatah, are fraught.
The rest of Gaza's energy needs are imported from Israel and Egypt.
The power station was closed down in July 2015 in similar circumstances.
It was damaged by shelling more than once during the 2014 war between Israel and Palestinian militants in Gaza.
Some 1.8 million people live in Gaza, which has been under an Israeli blockade since 2006.
There are no comments.
SPORT Saying goodbye is never easy, especially when you are saying farewell to those that have left a positive impression. That was the case earlier this month when Canada hosted Mexico in a friendly at BC Place stadium in Vancouver.
TECHNOLOGY Some 60mn primary-school-age children have no access to formal education
CULTURE Lekhwiya’s El Arabi scores the equaliser after Tresor is sent off; Tabata, al-Harazi score for QSL champions
ARABIA The Yemeni Minister of Tourism, Dr Mohamed Abdul Majid Qubati, yesterday expressed hope that the 48-hour ceasefire in Yemen declared by the Command of Coalition Forces on Saturday will be maintained in order to lift the siege imposed on Taz City and ease the entry of humanitarian aid to the besieged
ARABIA Some 200 teachers from schools across the country attended Qatar Museum’s (QM) first ever Teachers Council at the Museum of Islamic Art (MIA) yesterday.
ARABIA The Supreme Judiciary Council (SJC) of Qatar and the Indonesian Supreme Court (SCI) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on judicial co-operation, it was announced yesterday.
ECONOMY Sri Lanka is keen on importing liquefied natural gas (LNG) from Qatar as part of government policy to shift to clean energy, Minister of City Planning and Water Supply Rauff Hakeem has said.
