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EU Cuts Off Funding for Gaza Electricity
Electricity in Gaza on Monday became the latest battleground in the struggle between the coastal strip's Islamic Hamas rulers and their Fatah rivals, who have accused Hamas of pocketing electricity revenues. The losers are hundreds of thousands of Gazans, who have been plunged into darkness as European donors cut off key electricity aid.

On Sunday, the European Union stopped paying for fuel to power generators that produce electricity for at least half of Gaza's population of 1.4 million. On Monday, it said the payments would not resume because it had received word that Hamas was "diverting" electricity revenues.
Oh golly, there's a surprise, huh? Diverting cash to the Widows Ammunition Fund instead of paying for the widows' electricity?
"We are ready to resume our support to the Gaza power plant within hours once we receive the appropriate assurances that all the funds will be exclusively used for the benefit of the Gaza population," the European Commission - the EU's executive branch - said in a statement.

"Hamas is collecting all the electricity fees and never pays the costs of the electricity," said Jawwad Hirzallah, deputy minister of economy. "The Europeans were paying $10 million that Hamas collects from the people and doesn't pay the costs. So the European Union found itself paying the electricity company, while Hamas was pocketing the revenues."
Nice little scam, and the Euros -- up until now -- were easy marks.
But the Islamic militant group - which last month arrested the electric company's Fatah-affiliated executive director on corruption charges - has denied taking the utility's money. And it accused the government in Ramallah of trying to discredit it through the electricity crisis. "The government in Gaza is not involved in the operations of the (electric) company," said Ala Araj, a Hamas adviser. "In the next few days, the government will announce the investigations of the former director of the company, who stole money the EU donated."
Posted by: Fred 2007-08-21
http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=196741