UN urges Israel and Hamas to reach a solution for the fuel crisis in the Gaza Strip

Friday April 25, 2008 16:52 by Manar Jibrin - IMEMC News

In a statement that was issued on Friday, the United Nations called for both Israel and the Hamas movement to reach a settlement to the fuel crisis that has been inflicted on the Gaza Strip indicating the necessity for Israel to resume pumping fuel into the coastal region and for the Hamas movement to guarantee distributing it in an appropriate way.

Israel stopped providing the Gaza Strip with fuel in the wake of the Palestinian attack on Nahal Oz crossing earlier this month when two Israelis were killed.

On thursday, an Israeli spokesperson said that one million litres of fuel is stored on the Palestinian side of the crossing and added that Hamas refuses to distribute it.

The statement of the United Nations said that the union of the owners of the Gas stations in the Gaza Strip were stopped from providing the residents with fuel in protest against the restrictions Israel is imposing on pumping fuel into the area.

The United Nations for Works and Relief of Refugees office in the Gaza Strip announced earlier that they must stop their relief works there because of lack of fuel. Most aspects of life were gravely affected by this dire crisis.

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