Israel Today

Gazans forced to live in darkness due to lack of electricity

The residents of the Gaza Strip have been receiving electricity to their homes for only 12 out of 24 hours every day over the past couple weeks. And sometimes not even that.

So why hasn't this story made headline news around the world? Simple, Israel isn't the cause of the blackout.

The current situation is the result of an industrial fuel embargo on Gaza by the West Bank-based Palestinian Authority, which refuses to deliver any more fuel to Gaza until the territory's Hamas rulers pay their bill.

Hamas insists it simply does not have the money. The European Union used to foot the bill for the industrial fuel to power Gaza's main generator, but stopped doing so last November.

French news agency AFP noted that the international community is always quick to condemn Israel over the hardships faced by Gazans, but rarely if ever has anything to say when Palestinians themselves are the perpetrators of such injustices.