Residents of the Gaza Strip have been protesting since the beginning of the week over electricity shortages in the coastal territory.
Buckling under the demand, the Gaza electricity-generating turbines produce enough juice to power people’s homes for only eight hours a day.
Two Gazans spoke to Channel 2 today, discussed the difficult conditions and pointed their finger at Hamas for the shortage.
“Israelis are better,” says Ibrahim from Beit Lahia in despondence. “Israel is better than Hamas. Everyone in the street speaks about electricity. The entire public of Gaza speaks of this distress.”
On Monday, protesters set car tires alight and were dispersed by Hamas police officers. “They have no mercy,” Ibrahim says of the Hamas cops. “Anyone who dare speak can be thrown in jail for a year or two.”
The shortages are the result of a dispute between Hamas and the Palestinian Authority regarding the supply of fuel to the local power station in the Strip.
Some areas receive electricity for even less than a third of the day: Majdi, a resident of Rafah, tells Channel 2 that where he lives, “there is electricity for four hours, and then 20 hours with no electricity.”
“The fridge doesn’t work, you cannot keep meat [from going bad], there is no air conditioning, nothing works. Living in a tent is better. It’s better to leave in a tent than at home,” he says.
The Gaza Strip’s sole power plant (photo credit: Abed Rahim Khatib /Flash90)
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