Israel’s Defence Minister Avigdor Lieberman has ordered an immediate halt to fuel deliveries headed to the besieged Gaza Strip in response to what he said were attacks against Israeli soldiers and civilians, his office announced on Friday.
The announcement on Friday follows the killing of six Palestinians by Israeli forces during the ongoing Great March of Return protests.
#Israel decided to stop letting fuel into #Gaza which means back to the lack of electricity & all the repercussions of it.
— Omar Ghraieb?? (@Omar_Gaza) October 12, 2018
The statement from Lieberman’s office read:
“Israel will not tolerate a situation in which fuel tankers are allowed to enter Gaza on the one hand, while terror and violence are used against [Israeli] soldiers and Israeli citizens on the other.”
Qatari-bought fuel began arriving on Tuesday in a bid to alleviate the humanitarian situation in the besieged enclave and prevent any escalation in Israeli-Palestinian violence.
Hamas spokesman Hazem Qassem said at the time:
“The Qatari fuel to the Gaza strip’s power plant today is aimed at partially improving electricity [supply] in Gaza.”
Israeli authorities stop exporting fuel to #Gaza after deadly confrontations near the Gaza border left 6 Palestinians killed.
— عَـبـيْـر (@Abeerayyoub) October 12, 2018
The fuel deliveries were aimed at easing months of protests along the separation fence east of Gaza, which has been under a crippling Israeli and Egyptian blockade for more than a decade.
Last week, Lieberman’s office announced a further reduction to the Gaza’s fishing zone, from nine nautical miles to six.
Diesel fuel funded by #Qatar and has been transferred this week from #Israel into power plants in #Gaza, sparked a new conflict between the Hamas and Fatah political parties.https://t.co/bXHPJHciuO
— Al Arabiya English (@AlArabiya_Eng) October 11, 2018
Lieberman said the measure was in response to “riots” along the fence dividing Israel and Gaza and a midweek beach protest in which fishing boats and demonstrators gathered at the northwest end of the Gaza Strip.
The United Nations has warned that Israel’s 11-year blockade of the strip has resulted in a “catastrophic” humanitarian situation.
Palestinian Fatah outraged as fuel Qatar bought is transferred to Gaza @KhaledAbuToameh’s new report @Jerusalem_Post @JSchanzer @jdgreenblatt45 https://t.co/r3ofstYVaI
— Seth Frantzman (@sfrantzman) October 9, 2018
Under the UN-brokered deal, Qatar pays for the fuel which is then delivered through Israel with UN monitoring, a diplomatic source said.
A Qatari official, speaking to Reuters news agency on Sunday, said Doha planned to help with Gaza’s power crisis “at the request of donor states in the UN, to prevent an escalation of the existing humanitarian disaster”.
Upon the directives of HH the Amir Qatar Fund for Development (QFFD) has announced $150 million in emergency aid to alleviate the humanitarian crisis in the besieged Gaza Strip for years pic.twitter.com/AmBTQG8tmM
— Qatar News Agency (@QNAEnglish) October 10, 2018
Israel’s energy minister, Yuval Steinitz, told Reuters on Monday that Qatar “was trying to help” prevent a Gaza flare-up.
(AJE, PC, Social Media)
