GAZA: LIMITED QUANTITIES OF FOOD AND FUEL DELIVERED

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 JERUSALEM 000111 SIPDIS SENSITIVE SIPDIS NEA FOR FRONT OFFICE; NEA/IPA FOR GOLDBERGER/SHAMPAINE/BELGRADE; PRM FOR PRM/ANE; NSC FOR ABRAMS/PASCUAL; TREASURY FOR SZUBIN/LOEFFLER/NUGENT/HIRSON; BRUSSELS FOR LERNER; PLEASE PASS TO USAID FOR KUNDER/MCCLOUD/BORODIN E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: EAID ECON KPAL KWBG PGOV PHUM SUBJECT: GAZA: LIMITED QUANTITIES OF FOOD AND FUEL DELIVERED REF: 2007 JERUSALEM 2514 ¶1. (SBU) Summary: The Gaza Power Plant received 750,000 liters of industrial fuel on January 22 and restarted electricity production following two days of shut-down. Gaza gas station owners refused to make deliveries within Gaza of a 250,000-liter diesel fuel shipment at the Nahal Oz fuel transfer station on January 22, complaining that the shipments were "for the exclusive use of UNRWA and PA hospitals - not the Gaza public." An estimated 27 truckloads of humanitarian shipments passed through Kerem Shalom crossing on January 22. The Coastal Municipalities Water Authority estimated that during the shut-down of the Gaza Power Plant, roughly 40 percent of Gazans were without running water in their homes. End summary. Gaza Power Plant Receives Two Days Fuel Supply -------------- - ¶2. (SBU) Gaza Power Plant Manager Rafiq Maliha told Econoff on January 22 that the plant is in the process of receiving a 750,000-liter shipment of industrial fuel from the Nahal Oz fuel transport station - enough for the plant to produce 65 MW of electricity for two days. Maliha said that the plant, which produces roughly 30 percent of Gaza's electricity supply, re-started its turbines in the morning hours of January 22, following two days of shut-down due to a lack of fuel. Maliah said that he did not know when the next fuel delivery would take place, as the Israeli press has claimed the January 22 fuel shipments to be a "one time" exception. ¶3. (SBU) Maliha said that the 120 MW of electricity from the Israel Electricity Company (IEC) and the 18 MW from Egypt continued to supply most of the southern, central, and the most northern Gaza Strip with power when the Plant was shut down. He said that the shut down of the Plant hit hardest those residents of Gaza City and some in central Gaza. Maliha stressed that the ad hoc configuration of Gaza's grid makes it difficult to transfer and monitor electricity flows through the exchange points between the IEC and the Power Plant. Gaza Gas Station Owners Declare Work Stoppage -------------- ¶4. (SBU) Vice Chairman of the Gaza Petroleum and Gas Station Owners' Association Mahmound Khozendar told Econoff that 250,000 liters of diesel fuel were transferred at Nahal Oz on January 22, but that his association's members refused to deliver the fuel, as the entire amount was to be shipped to UNRWA and PA hospitals for their exclusive use - none for the gas stations. "We will not participate in this sort of abuse," said Khozendar. He stressed that once diesel fuel is "available to all Gazans" his association's members will re-start fuel deliveries. The 250,000 liters of diesel fuel remains in holding tanks on the Gaza side of the Nahal Oz transfer station. Khozendar added that the industrial fuel deliveries to the Power Plant will continue to be an exception to the work stoppage. He noted that 240 tons of cooking gas was received at Nahal Oz on January 22 and delivered through a separate distribution system. Some Humanitarian Shipments Go Through -------------- ¶5. (SBU) WFP Deputy Country Director Jacques Higgins said that WFP shipped seven truckloads of food aid into Gaza through the Kerem Shalom crossing on January 22. Higgins said that UNRWA, ICRC, and WHO had also shipped on that day an estimated 20 truckloads of humanitarian goods through Kerem Shalom. WFP planned to ship 15 trucks of aid through Kerem Shalom on January 23, said Higgins. Lack of Electricity Cripples Hospital Operations -------------- --- ¶6. (SBU) WHO Country Director Mahmoud Daher told Econoff on January 22 that Dar al-Shifa hospital in Gaza City has, once again, limited its health services to emergency cases only, as the hospital's three generators have only three or four days of diesel fuel supply remaining - roughly 9500 liters. Daher estimated that Gaza hospital activity has slowed by 50 JERUSALEM 00000111 002 OF 002 percent in the last two days due to the lack of electricity. Despite the Power Plant's renewed power production on January 22, Gaza hospital managers had told him that they will continue to limit health services offered for the foreseeable future to preserve fuel stocks, as the fuel import situation remains unpredictable. Limited Running Water Throughout Gaza -------------- ¶7. (SBU) PA Coastal Municipalities Water Utility (CMWU) engineer in Gaza Monther Shoblak told Econoff on January 22 that during the January 20-22 Power Plant shut-down, an estimated 40 percent of Gaza homes were without running water. He said that some 60 percent of the 137 CMWU-operated water wells in Gaza have been turned-off to conserve limited diesel fuel supplies. Shoblak said that all Gaza power and water utilities continue to rotate electricity and water services to the extent possible between Gaza neighborhoods, most of which received two hours of running water and four to eight hours of electricity during the Power Plant shut-down. WALLES