A senior Hamas official warned that recent Israeli policies in the Gaza Strip are endangering ceasefire understandings reached after last month’s two-day skirmishes between Israel and Hamas.
“The Israeli occupation is manipulating the fishing zone and stopping fuel supply to the power stations,” Khalil al-Hayya told the Hamas-affiliated Shehab news agency. “This puts the understandings in a dangerous situation.”
Hayya also warned “the Israeli occupation not to export its internal crises” to Palestinians. His comment comes in reference to Israel holding national elections in September for the second time in under six months.
Israeli authorities had taken the decision to halt Qatari-sponsored fuel from operating the Gaza power station.
The decision was taken in response to releasing arson balloons from Gaza into Israel.
At least 13 brush fires were sparked in southern Israel on Monday by balloon-borne incendiary devices launched from the coastal Palestinian territory, the local fire service said.
In response to the attacks, Israel also decided to downsize the fishing zone accessible to Gazans from 10 nautical miles to six.
Tensions rose in Gaza last week as Hamas militants fired rockets against settlements near the Strip, leading Israel to respond with counter raids.
On implementing understandings, Hamas said that if Israel continued to stall protests would escalate.
“Israel's decision to stop the shipment of fuel to Gaza power station will badly influence the schedule of electricity distribution all over the Gaza Strip,”director general of Electricity Distribution Company in Gaza Zeyad Thabet said.
“Consequently, this would certainly badly influence the general daily life and increase the people's suffering in the Gaza Strip,” he stressed.
“The Gaza Strip will lose 75 megawatts of electricity if the power station completely stops,” Thabet added.
He pointed out that the basic reservoirs were completely destroyed in the aggression of 2014.
