GAZA, November 12, 2008 (WAFA)- The Palestinian Center for Human Rights (PCHR) expressed, Wednesday,  its concern following the halt of fuel supplies to the Gaza Strip in the past six days.

In a press release published, Wednesday, PCHR said that more than 30% of the Gazan population was rendered in complete darkness, Tuesday night. Although IOF allowed, Wednesday, the delivery of 427,410 liters of energy fuel, which is enough to operate Gaza's power plant for one single day, PCHR is still concerned that humanitarian conditions in the Gaza Strip may further deteriorate.

IOF have closed all commercial crossing points of the Gaza Strip since Wednesday, November 15 2008, banning the delivery of the limited quantities of supplies that had been allowed into the Gaza Strip. IOF have also stopped the delivery of fuel supplies that had been already reduced, which has caused further deterioration to humanitarian conditions in the Gaza Strip that had been deteriorating since June 15 2007 when IOF imposed a total siege on the Gaza Strip.

According to PCHR's observations and its field workers' report, the closure of Nahal Ouz crossing, used for the delivery of fuel supplies, has resulted in an acute shortage of the energy fuel required for the operation Gaza power plant that generates approximately one third of Gaza Strip's daily needs of electricity.

Engineer Hassan Al-Nabih, Deputy Director General in the Palestinian Energy Authority, said that one of the electricity generation turbines in the power plant has been stopped due to the shortage of fuel supplies. As a result, the productivity of the plant had dropped from 70 to 50 megawatts. He added that the plant will be completely stopped if not replenished with fuel. He explained that the fuel supplied to the power plant, which is estimated at 2.5 million liters per week, is promptly consumed, and hence the plant has no reserves.

On Monday, November 10, 2008, Gaza power plant was put off when it ran out of fuel. As a result, many neighborhoods in the Gaza Strip, especially in Gaza city, where approximately 570,000 people live, were rendered in complete darkness.

PCHR condemned the imposition of further restrictions, which are a flagrant violation of the international humanitarian law, including the Fourth Geneva Convention. PCHR called upon the international community to exert effective pressure on Israeli Occupation Authorities to end the suffering of more than 1.5 million Palestinian civilians living in the Gaza Strip and ensure immediate and free flow of basic supplies, including fuel, food and medicine, into the Gaza Strip.