Brussels, 20/08/2007 (Agence Europe) - On 20 August the European Commission confirmed that last Thursday it had suspended the funding of fuel in Gaza “due to security reasons”. A Commission spokesperson, Antonia Mochan, explained that this decision had also been motivated by the possible introduction by Hamas of a tax on electricity bills.
On Monday Morning the Gaza Strip continued to be affected by sizeable power cuts, following the closure of the only electricity plan in its territory. The Nahal Oz terminal, where fuel is transported to the plant, was closed last Thursday “for security reasons” by the Israeli authorities. Following this event, the EU, which funds fuel purchases, decided to suspend its payments to the private Israeli Dor Alon company, which supplies Gaza.
Alluding to a number of concerns about points of passage as well as the tense situation in the territory, Ms Mochan also said that Hamas (listed by the EU as a terrorist organisation) was planning to introduce a tax on electricity bills, an approach, the Commission described as going against the interests of the people. Funding fuel supplies under the Temporary International Mechanism (TIM) is solely intended to provide direct aid the inhabitants of the Gaza Strip. The spokesperson indicated that EU assured funding would therefore resume, “once we have the guarantee that there won't be a tax”. She explained that Israel had “reopened the passage points for petrol to be delivered”. Mochan also said that they were currently studying all the different factors in the situation. On Sunday, Alix De Mauny, spokesperson for the EU in Jerusalem indicated to Reuters that the EU was currently proceeding with a security assessment regarding fuel supplies, which would take between 24 and 48 hours. She added that she hoped that they would be able to resume funding supplies but explained that this would depend on the results of the assessment. (ol)