Israel Agrees To Resume Supplies To The Besieged Gaza Strip
January 27, 2008 1:26 p.m. EST



Mayur Pahilajani - AHN News Writer
Jerusalem, Israel (AHN) - Israel pledged on Sunday to resume humanitarian aid and fuel supplies to the battered Gaza territory after the leaders from Israel and Palestinian met to discuss the running of the crossings and the situation in the Gaza Strip.

Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas of Fatah and Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert met for two hours to discuss the Israeli siege of the Gaza strip, which forced several hundred thousand Gaza residents to flock into Egypt.

Almost two weeks ago, Israeli security authorities had ordered a closing of the border that leads into Israel from Gaza in response to the rockets frequently launched by the militant groups occupying the Gaza territory since July, last year.

The 1.5 million residents of the Gaza Strip suffered due to the lack of food and fuel, which also forced the only electrical power plant in the territory to shut down for lack of fuel to generate electricity.

Following which on Wednesday, Hamas blew up sections of the Gaza border wall and metal fence at the Rafah, Egypt entry point allowing thousands of Gaza residents to enter the neighboring border town to buy food, fuel and other products for their beleaguered families.

According to reports Egyptian forces have been guarding the border town of Rafah to stop Palestinians from going further into Egypt as the Gaza residents have been trying to bypass the Egyptian blockades.

The decision to resume the supplies followed a hearing where the state promised to increase fuel supplies to the territory that was blocked completely since Jan. 17.

A petition was filed by 10 Israeli and Palestinian rights group in Israel's Supreme Court on Sunday to order the state to restore supplies but the court adjourned without issuing a ruling.

"The amount of fuel oil supplied to the power plant will remain at this point at 2.2 million liters per week," the state said, according to AFP.

According to the reports, it was not clear when supplies would start.

On the other hand, the rights group added that they cannot believe the state's decision.

"The state has repeatedly promised that it would supply 2.2 million liters a week into Gaza and has repeatedly broken that promise," Sari Bashi, the chief of the GISHA group that was one of the plaintiffs, told AFP.

The supply of 2.2 million liters per week is also the minimum amount required to keep Gaza's power station in operation.

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