Posted on 01/21/2008 7:55:00 AM PST by Alouette
GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip - Israel refused to reopen crossings or allow crucial fuel supplies into Gaza on Monday, holding firm in its campaign to keep Palestinian rocket fire at bay despite warnings from the U.N. that vital food aid could be suspended within days.
Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said Gaza's residents can "walk, without gas for their cars," suggesting that he would not lift the chokehold any time soon.
Israel and Gaza's Hamas government were locked in a public relations battle over the depth of the hardship. An angry Hamas TV announcer shouted that "we are being killed, we are starving!" and Palestinian leaders pleaded for national unity, while Israel accused Hamas of fabricating a crisis to gain world sympathy.
Gaza's power plant shut down late Sunday, plunging Gaza City into darkness, and gas stations and many bakeries stopped operating. Health officials warned that hospital generators were running out of fuel.
"We have the choice to either cut electricity on babies in the maternity ward or heart surgery patients or stop operating rooms," said Health Ministry official Moaiya Hassanain.
International food aid may be suspended by the week's end if the closures continue, a U.N. aid agency spokesman said Monday, because of a shortage of fuel and plastic bags used to pack food. Most Gaza residents rely on food aid.
"We are going to have to suspend operations on Thursday or Friday," said Chris Gunness, spokesman for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency, which distributes food aid to 860,000 Palestinian refugees in Gaza. The World Food Program, which gives food to another 270,000 Gaza residents, said it would also have to suspend distribution by Thursday, because they expected their fuel used to power distribution trucks to run out.
"We are all in a very vulnerable situation because of limited supplies," said John Ging, head of UNRWA.
Waiting in a line at the only open bakery for miles around, Mohammed Salman said he spent far more on a taxi getting to the shop than he would on bread. "I'm going to buy something that my family can keep for only two days because there is no electricity and no refrigerator," Salman said. "We cannot keep anything longer than that."
Olmert said he would not allow a humanitarian crisis to unfold, but also warned that Gaza's 1.5 million residents won't be able to live a "pleasant and comfortable life" as long as southern Israel comes under rocket attack from Gaza.
"As far as I'm concerned Gaza residents will walk, without gas for their cars, because they have a murderous, terrorist regime that doesn't let people in southern Israel live in peace," Olmert told legislators from his Kadima Party.
In addition to the fuel it receives from Israel to power its electrical plant, Gaza gets about 70 percent of its electricity directly from Israel — and that has not been stopped, Israeli officials said.
The power plant supplies most of the remaining electricity, and Israeli officials acknowledged that the fuel used to supply it has been stopped.
Israeli Defense Ministry spokesman Shlomo Dror said a reduction of rocket attacks this week was not enough to lift the blockade. The army said five rockets were fired on Sunday, down from 53 in the two previous days.
Dror and other Israeli officials charged that Hamas was creating a false crisis and could resume the electricity if it wanted.
Hamas claimed that five people had died at hospitals because of the power outage. However, health officials, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were contradicting the official line, denied the claim.
Daily rocket fire into its southern communities have virtually paralyzed life since a spike in fighting last week that followed a small Israeli ground operation in Gaza.
Israel sealed all crossings into Gaza last week in response to the fighting, cutting off fuel, food and medicine.
Gazans said Monday that they were eating less meat and dairy products since they had no power for refrigerators. The price of meat has doubled in 10 days.
Late Sunday, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas appealed to Israel to lift the blockade, said Abbas spokesman Nabil Abu Rdeneh. Abbas rules only the West Bank after Hamas expelled his forces from Gaza last June.
Abbas renewed peace talks with Israel after a U.S. peace conference in November. On Monday, some Palestinians urged Abbas to break them off.
Negotiators for Abbas' government will raise the Gaza situation in the next negotiating session, said Nabil Shaath, Abbas' representative in Egypt.
Hamas leaders in Gaza said their West Bank rivals were partly to blame for the crisis, by not loudly condemning Israel's moves in the strip. They called on Arab countries to help, pointedly ignoring their rivals in the West Bank.
The Gaza prime minister, Ismail Haniyeh of Hamas, demanded that Egypt open its border with Gaza to allow in supplies, "We need actions, and not statements," he said.
Hundreds of Gaza residents, doctors in white coats, Hamas lawmakers and drivers with their ambulances demonstrated near the border with Egypt. They demanded Egypt open the crossing.
"Why are Arab countries partners to this embargo?" said Marwan Abu Ras, a Hamas lawmaker.
Sixty empty fuel trucks lined up at the Egypt-Gaza border, in a protest organized by gas station owners who demanded that supplies be let in through Egypt.
Israel pulled out of Gaza in 2005, but many see Israel as still responsible, since it controls most land, sea and air access to the territory.
Warning! This is a high-volume ping list.
If they can smuggle in rockets, they can smuggle in fuel.
"Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached." - Manuel II Palelologus
High Volume. Articles on Israel can also be found by clicking on the Topic or Keyword Israel. or WOT [War on Terror]
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Those evil Egyptians are killing those poor people by not allowing supplies into the region.
Oh, wait. Is Hamas firing rockets into Egypt? That's right, this story was about how Israel is killing babies in hospitals by closing its border.
My bad.
If you declare war on Israel, you really can't expect them to keep your entire territory of hatred on welfare.
BARAK FOLDS:
Breaking News: Israel to ease blockade of Gaza
The Israeli government has said it will allow medicines and some power plant fuel into the Gaza Strip on Tuesday, easing a controversial blockade.
Defence Minister Ehud Barak agreed to ease the curbs hours after the territory’s sole power plant shut down, plunging Gaza City into darkness
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1957142/posts
Let ‘em eat rockets.
Why did it take Israel MONTHS or even YEARS to shut off the power?
In fact, Israel has NOT shut off the 70% of the power that it supplies directly.
What is the life of a child in Sderot worth?
They should shut ALL the power off and LEAVE IT OFF
until the rockets cease.
Every time there is ONE ROCKET, the power goes off for TEN DAYS.
Even the Gazans ought to be able to figure that one out.
Even the Gazans ought to be able to figure that one out.
I like that idea in general, but I'd modify it a bit.
First rocket: 5 days without power
Second rocket: 10 days without power
Third rocket: 20 days without power
Fourth rocket: 40 days without power
etc...
Continued aggression should result in growing penalties, IMO.
It was the Germans who bombed Pearl Harbor!
Don't hold your breath!
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