RAMALLAH (Ma’an) – The chair of the Palestinian Authority energy authority Omar Kittana says the Hamas-run government in the Gaza Strip is politicizing the electricity crisis in an attempt to score political points.

Asked about accusations that he threatened employees at the energy authority in Gaza, Kittana said, “I refuse to comment on this as we have reached an impermissible point. I was afraid of politicization of this issue.

"We have been exerting efforts with the Egyptians for the sake of serving our people in the Gaza Strip, to provide them with electricity rather than serving the interests of any party."

He added that his department’s efforts were focused only on solving the electricity crisis regardless of any political considerations and bickering.

The population of the coastal enclave, he said, has experienced very tough and unbearable conditions, and the role of the energy authority is to help them through providing electricity.

Kittana says he expects the crisis in Gaza to come to an end very soon, and he highlighted that a joint committee of Egyptians and Palestinians has been appointed to discuss the possible mechanisms for shipping fuel from Egypt to the strip.

A draft agreement has been put forward according to which Gaza’s power plant will receive fuel. Shipment will be from Suez “through official crossings,” he said.

Currently the only terminals designated for fuel are via Israel, but the Hamas government in Gaza has been bypassing them for over a year by pumping gas through tunnels from the Sinai. The draft agreement would resume transferring fuel through the Israeli crossings, which are more stable than the tunnels.

Kittana noted that Egypt agreed to increase power to Gaza from 17 to 22 Megawatt starting next week.

Furthermore, Kittana said an agreement was reached to start amplifying the Sheikh Zweid power plant near the Egypt-Gaza border. Experts who examined the issue reported that it would be possible to enlarge the power plant to be able to provide the Gaza Strip with 40 additional Megawatt.

The enlargement costs approximately $1 million, and work will start within two months, he said.