Hamas Invites Palestinian Authority to Control Gaza 'Unimpeded'

This is a curious step by Hamas and I can't help but wonder what they are up to. It does not seem likely that they are simply doing 'the right thing' for the people of Gaza whom they used as cannon fodder in their war against Israel. I fear something suspicious is going on.

By Ray Downs 

Hamas Chief Ismail Haniyeh flashes the victory gesture upon his arrival on the Palestinian side of the Rafah border crossing, in the southern Gaza Strip on Tuesday. The delegation of the Hamas leadership is returning from Cairo to Gaza after long meetings with the Egyptian government the agreement on reconciliation between Hamas and Fatah. Photo by Ismael Mohamad/ UPI. | License 

UPI -- The chief of Hamas' Political Bureau said Tuesday that the group is ready to receive the Palestinian Unity Government in Gaza.

"To show Hamas' seriousness to bring about reconciliation, we invite the unity government to come and assume its duties in Gaza unimpeded," Ismail Haniyeh told reporters during a press conference in the Gaza Strip, according to the Middle East Monitor.

He added: "We have opened the door wide before [Fatah's] decision-makers to take courageous decisions to unite the Palestinian people as our cause faces huge challenges. We are keen to end the siege on Gaza and we have exerted much effort to do this through the gate of the reconciliation."

The announcement is a reiteration of Hamas' decision on Sunday to dissolve its governing body in the Gaza Strip to give the Palestinian Authority full governmental control in Gaza.

Hamas has controlled the Gaza Strip for more than a decade, but recently agreed to demands set by Mahmoud Abbas, president of the Palestinian Authority, to hold elections, which haven't occurred since 2007.

Mahdi Abdul Hadi, director of Passia, an East Jerusalem think tank, told the New York Times that Haniyeh and Yehya Sinwar, Gaza's new prime minister, are eager to work with Abbas and Fatah, the controlling party in the Palestinian Authority.

"Lift the siege, let people breathe," Abdul Hadi said. "Electricity, water, salaries, medical -- instead of explosion."

Hamas Disperses Protesters as 1,000s Decry Gaza’s Deepening Energy Crisis

Palestinians chant slogans during a protest against the ongoing electricity crisis in Jabalia refugee camp in the northern Gaza Strip on January 12, 2017. © Mohammed Abed / AFP

It's curious that all the protesters seem to be young men.

A demonstration protesting electricity cuts in Gaza attended by several thousand people was broken up by Hamas before the crowd could reach the electric company. Gazans have had just a few hours of electricity a day for months, with blame laid all around.

The energy crisis hit the Gaza Strip late last year, worsening an already dire situation. Locals there were used to getting electricity in eight hour cycles, but they have now been reduced to just three or four hours. The cost of running generators has also soared, and few people could afford them even before the crisis worsened.

On Thursday, anger over power rationing escalated into a protest focused around the Jabaliya refugee camp. The chanting crowd threw stones at police, who fired into the air to disperse the protesters, according to Reuters. Ma’an news agency said security forces also targeted reporters covering the events. The crowd was prevented from reaching a power company, which they blamed for the crisis.

The clashes are the latest sign of growing popular discontent among Gazans, who number more than two million. They direct blame at all sides, including Israel, the Palestinian Authority, which controls the West Bank, and Hamas, which runs the Gaza strip – all of which play a role in providing electricity and the ongoing shortage.

Gaza has only received 45 percent of the power it requires over the past year and is currently receiving only a third of its daily demand of 450-500 MWs. A power plant in Nusairat generates only 30MW a day, both due to damage it sustained in Israeli bombings in 2006 and a shortage of fuel, which the Palestinian Authority provides. An additional 30MW come from Egypt and 120 MW are supplied by Israel.

The PA used to send the fuel it bought from Israel and Egypt to Gaza tax free, but stopped doing so due to its own financial troubles. This has angered Hamas, which has accused the rival faction of undermining the group’s authority in Gaza by exacerbating the crisis.

Moreover, Gaza’s electrical utility has been unable to collect payment from many of its customers, and is now owed around $1 billion in unpaid consumer bills. Meanwhile, the Israeli company is demanding that the Palestinian company pay the debt owed to it in full before it will increase supplies.

The crisis has worsened since temperatures began falling in winter, increasing demand for electricity. Poorer Gazans have had to switch to candles and firewood for lighting and heating, while those better off have started buying more diesel fuel for generators. This has caused a spike in demand and, consequently, prices that, in turn, has put many local businesses at risk of bankruptcy.

“We used to buy 1,500 liters of diesel week. Now we have to buy 4,000 liters at a cost of 20,000 shekels ($5,250) a week,” Haitham Badra, a bakery owner, told Reuters. “If the crisis continues much longer, all bakeries and restaurants in Gaza will collapse.”

Meanwhile, the power company in Gaza said: “If no substantial solutions are found the crisis will escalate and hours without power will increase.”

The Hamas Charter affirmed in 1988, that Hamas was founded to liberate Palestine, including modern-day Israel, from "Israeli occupation" and to establish an Islamic state in the area that is now Israel, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.

Assistance has been suspended from many countries because Hamas refuses to recognize Israel's right to exist, and because Hamas has been designated as a terrorist organization. Hamas has targeted civilians in Israel and as such has been accused by Human Rights Watch of war crimes and crimes against humanity.

Perhaps if Hamas were to make it a priority to better Palestinian's lives rather than destroying Israel, they might get some help. But how much of the assistance they do get actually goes to improving Palestinian lives and how much goes to building Qassam rockets and tunnels beneath Israel?

Peru to Give Free Solar Panels to 2 Million People

Peru is taking a big step in the green energy direction by promising to provide electricity to 2 million of the poorest residents in the country completely for free using solar panel technology.

Jorge Merino, the Energy and Mining Minister of Peru explains that the National Photovoltaic Household Electrification Program will facilitate access to electricity in the households of the country’s poorest citizens using photovoltaic solar panels.

Latin America Herald Tribune reports that the first recipients of this expansive project will be 500,000 extremely low income households where the solar systems will be provided. These installations will be given to homes that lack access to the power grid.  Not only will power be provided to those without, it will also majorly bolster the industry of domestic solar installers. Merino has stated that the contract for installing the panels in this project will be opened to bidders later in the year.

The project is already underway and so far it has found its beginnings in Contumaza- a province in the northeast part of Cajamarca.  There have been 1,601 solar power panels installed already, according to the most recent reports.  The energy minister states that when the project reaches completion roughly 95% of Peruvians will have access to electricity by the end of 2016 in comparison to the current 66% who have power access.

Merino says:

“This program is aimed at the poorest people, those who lack access to electric lighting and still use oil lamps, spending their own resources to pay for fuels that harm their health.”

To go from 66% to 95% in less than 2 years is remarkable and inspiring.  Between European, Central, and South American countries, sustainable power sources are beginning to become the norm in many places around the world, rather than an unusual example of sustainability.