Egypt helps ease fuel crisis in Gaza

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — Egypt on Wednesday trucked 1 million liters of cheap diesel fuel to the Gaza Strip’s sole power plant — a rare shipment that temporarily eased a crippling electricity crisis in the Hamas-ruled enclave but also appeared to undercut Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.

Abbas has been stepping up financial pressure on Gaza in hopes of forcing the militant group Hamas to cede ground in the territory. Hamas seized Gaza from Abbas’ forces in 2007, and Wednesday’s delivery was the result of a strange new alliance of old foes united against the Palestinian president.

The power plant stopped operating in April after Hamas could no longer afford to buy heavily taxed fuel from Abbas’ West Bank-based government, leaving Gazans with just four hours of electricity a day.

The power shortage has cast a pall over the current holy month of Ramadan, when Muslims often end their dawn-to-dusk fasting with lavish family meals. With their homes in the dark and refrigerators not functioning, families have had to scale back the celebrations.