By Xinhua,
Gaza : Palestinian energy officials will visit Cairo next week to discuss with Egyptian counterparts ways of solving fuel and power shortage problems in Gaza Strip.
During their talks, the Palestinian side will ask Egypt to supply Gaza with fuel to remedy the crisis which widened after Israel reduced fuel shipments to Gaza Strip last September, said Mujahed Salama, director of Palestinian Petroleum Agency (PPA).
Salama added that the Palestinians will also demand industrial diesel for the only power station in Gaza which most of the time runs on less than half of its capacity due to the Israeli restrictions on fuel deliveries to Gaza.
The Palestinian delegation will comprise officials from the PPAand the Palestinian Energy Authority. They will meet with Egyptian ministers of electricity and petrol.
Israel reduced fuel supplies to Gaza in September last year, three months after Hamas violently seized control of the territory. Israel says the measure was meant to put pressure on the Islamic movement to stop its attacks on Israel.
In addition to the reductions, the Israeli army used to close Nahal Oz fuel crossing every time Palestinians fired mortar shells on the crossing or nearby areas.
During past three weeks, the fuel Israel sent to Gaza was even less than the reduced amounts that supposed to be received, the Gaza Petrol Stations Owners Union said.
Meanwhile, Hamas police forces on Saturday started a campaign to stop drivers from using cooking oil as petrol instead of diesel or gasoline.
Abdel Salam Haneya, director of the traffic police, said on the first day the policemen will stop the cars and explain to the drivers the dangerous results of gassing up with the cooking oil. From Sunday on, the police will start to confiscate the cars which keep on using cooking oil.