Hamas Is Staging Gaza Blackouts.

Gaza receives over 70% of its electricity from Israel and Egypt. Neither one has cut the power to Gaza, nor would they at this time. But Hamas is claiming that there are blackouts all 0ver Gaza. How can that be? Maybe this is the answer, but you won't see it in the Media.

Palestinian Authority officials in Ramallah accused Hamas on Tuesday of staging the latest blackouts in the Gaza Strip in a bid to win sympathy and incite the Palestinian public against Israel and the PA.

The officials said that contrary to Hamas's claim, there is no shortage of basic goods, medicine and fuel in the Gaza Strip, largely thanks to the many underground tunnels along the border with Egypt.

This is not the first time that Palestinians have accused Hamas of staging Gaza blackouts under the pretext that Israel had cut off fuel supplies to the district's power grid.

Earlier this year, Palestinian journalists in Gaza City told The Jerusalem Post that scenes of Palestinian children and women holding lit candles in the dark had been staged by Hamas and some Arab satellite TV stations.

"There's no shortage of fuel in the Gaza Strip and the Electricity Company is continuing to function normally," said a PA official. "Our people in the Gaza Strip have told us that the blackouts are all staged as part of the Hamas propaganda."

Another PA official noted that Hamas's lies reached their peak last January when its legislators held a meeting in a darkened hall of the Palestinian Legislative Council - while light could be seen coming in through the curtained windows.

The official accused Al-Jazeera of serving as a platform for Hamas's propaganda machine by airing staged footage of children and women during candlelight protests in the streets of Gaza City.

"There's enough fuel in the Gaza Strip," he said. "Even when Israel reduces the fuel supplies, Hamas continues to smuggle tens of thousands of liters through the underground tunnels."

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Another pack of lies from Hamas. And yet the world will buy it. Why? Because they are against Israel, the sole Jewish nation in the world. The world will call them besieged even though 60 tons of supplies, water, fuel and electricity is funnelled into Gaza from Israel each day. Not each month, but each day.

It is time for the Israelis to call Hamas' bluff and cut off all food, medical, water, fuel and eletricity to the Gaza Strip. Then they can cry Siege. Until then they are only crying wolf.

Blackouts in Gaza, Boo Hoo!

For the last week rockets have been fired from Gaza into the Western Negev. Although no one has been killed yet, it is only a matter of time before another innocent Israeli is murdered by the thugs called Hamas.

The world stands idly by while allowing Hamas a reign of terror and condemns Israel for any retaliation that it might do in its self-defense. In many ways it is 1938 and Kristallnacht all over again.

Finally the Israelis have taken some action. Upon discovering tunnels that Hamas was going to use to kidnap Israeli soldiers, they did a limited action. With that not stopping the rockets the Israelis stopped all fuel shipments to Gaza.

Gaza residents are experiencing sporadic electricity blackouts, and Palestinian officials are blaming Israel for cutting off fuel shipments to their power plant.

Israeli military administration spokesman Peter Lerner says the Palestinians warned their Gaza City electricity plant would run out of fuel Monday if shipments aren't resumed. He said the shipments were stopped last Wednesday because of Palestinian rocket attacks.

Kanan Obeid, chairman of Gaza’s Hamas-run Energy Authority, also said the Strip would be plunged into total darkness unless the fuel shipments are resumed.

According to him, one of the power plant's turbines has already been deemed inoperative, and the remaining turbines will stop functioning on Monday.

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Maybe Hamas should ask their nice friends the Iranians for the fuel. After all aren't they Muslim brothers. And fuel would be a better gift than rockets or other weapons of war.

In a related story, it seems that the power will be shut off completely at Noon Monday. Oh well. They should have paid their electric bill.

If Israel does not resume fuel shipments to the Gaza Strip by noon Monday, the power station which supplies 40 percent of the Strip's electricity needs will cease to function, Hamas warned Monday morning, according to an Army Radio report.

Residents will experience blackouts, and hospitals will also be without power, Hamas said.

Flour supplies will also be exhausted within 48 hours, according to Hamas, whilst crossings between Israel and the Gaza Strip remain closed.

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But we never said that Hamas was smart. Maybe a true siege and full scale bombing of Gaza would bring them to their senses. Then again maybe not.