Sit-ins Gaza Against Power Crisis
Gaza, 27 Rajab 1438/24 April 2017 (MINA) – Dozens of Palestinian refugees in Gaza demanded the UNRWA in a protest on Sunday to shoulder its responsibilities toward the refugees amid the worsening electricity crisis.
In a speech on behalf of the Popular Committee for Refugees in al-Shati refugee camp, west of Gaza city, Khalil al-Saidi pointed to the disastrous consequences of the ongoing siege and the escalating electricity crisis in Gaza which has affected the services provided to refugees, the Palestinian Information Center (PIC) reported.
Saidi held the UNRWA fully responsible for the consequences of the continued power outages and asked it to urgently intervene to avoid an impending humanitarian crisis.
Saidi demanded the UNRWA to assume its obligations in accordance with the UN resolution No. 193 for helping and employing refugees and improving the level of services provided to them.
He called on the Palestinian Authority (PA) government in Ramallah to take into account the humanitarian situation of refugees in Gaza and end the accumulated crises, and asked the national and Islamic factions to exercise their role to end the electricity crisis and pressure the UNRWA to assume its duties toward refugees.
In a related development, dozens of women and students participated in a protest in front of the Gaza Electricity Generation Company against the escalating power crisis with only 4 hours of electricity available a day in most of the Gaza Strip areas.
The protesters held the PA president, Mahmoud Abbas, responsible for the deteriorating humanitarian situation in Gaza.
The young protester, Sari Baraka, spoke to dozens of journalists describing the taxes imposed on fuel by the PA government as another blockade on Gaza.
The electricity crisis surfaced anew in the coastal enclave after the only power plant was shut down last Sunday because of the depletion of the fuel provided by the Turkish and Qatari grants and the re-imposition of taxes on the fuel sold to the plant by the PA government.(T/R04/RS5)
Mi’raj Islamic News Agency (MINA)
