QATAR PLEDGED FUEL SHIPMENTS FOR THE GAZA POWER PLANT

Gaza, 11 Safar 1435/14 December 2013 (MINA) – Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haneyya said that Qatar pledged 15 million dollars to help solve the power crisis and aid the population affected by floods, in addition to fuel shipments for the Gaza power plant.

Premier Haneyya, during a tour of the affected areas in central Gaza on Friday evening, said that Emir of Qatar Sheikh Tamim Al Thani promised over a phone call with him to send next Tuesday shipments of fuel enough to operate the Gaza power plant for four months.

Haneyya added that Qatar would also channel 10 million dollars to the Palestinian Authority in Ramallah to pay the fuel taxes it would purchase for the Gaza power plant if the latter agreed on that, Palestinian Information Center reported as cited by Mi’raj News Agency (MINA).

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He also said that Qatar would send five million dollars in aid to help those affected by the air depression that hit Gaza.

The premier expressed his sincere thanks to Qatar for extending a helping hand to the Gaza people in time of need.

The Gaza Strip is currently under a state of emergency due to severe weather conditions caused by a historic storm front moving south across the Levant.

Fuel shortages have caused daily life in the Gaza Strip to grind slowly to a halt since early November, as power plants and water pumps are forced to shut down, cutting off access to basic necessities for Gaza residents.

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The Gaza Strip has been without a functioning power plant since the beginning of November, when the plant ran out of diesel fuel as a result of the tightening of a seven-year-long blockade imposed on the territory by Israel with Egyptian support.(T/P03/P04)

Mi’raj News Agency (MINA)