GAZA CITY (IRIN) — Frequent closures of the only crossing for commercial goods between Israel and the Gaza Strip have left Palestinians short of gas for cooking and heating, affecting businesses, agricultural production and health services.
Kerem Shalom crossing reopened on 26 June after two days of closure. Israel has closed the crossing five times since the end of February, for a total of 15 working days, in addition to six days of closure due to holidays.
Before this most recent closure, Palestinians in Gaza said they were still recovering from the series of closures in the spring, which they say created a cumulative deficit in gas.
At one of Gaza’s major gas distributors, some 40,000 empty cylinders fill the station.
“Some people have been waiting for months to get their cylinders filled,” owner Yusri Daban said. He manages to fill about 1,500 per day, but is flooded with an equal amount of empty arrivals.
Daban’s company used to receive 25 tons of gas per day for distribution. His share decreased to 18 tons due to the shortages, and has not been increased since. He says he needs 35 to 45 tons a day to deal with the backlog.
Maher Tabba’, spokesperson of the Gaza chamber of commerce, said the shortages have affected production on farms, factories, bakeries and restaurants, and have added to the chronic power cuts by putting an even higher demand on electricity. more
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