GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — The power crisis is still disrupting the daily life of Gazans, sparking mutual accusations over its causes between the Palestinian Authority (PA) and Ramallah’s Energy and Natural Resources Authority on the one hand, and between Hamas and its Energy Authority in the Gaza Strip on the other. Meanwhile, 50% of Gaza’s daily electricity needs are not being met.

Exacerbated in the cold winter due to heavy power consumption, the crisis first began when Israel bombed the only power plant in the central Gaza Strip on Jan. 28, 2006. As a result, most cities and camps in the Gaza Strip were left in darkness, with more than 700,000 Gazans deprived of electricity for days. Thus, the issue of renovating and developing this power plant, along with other power sources, has stirred political tension between the PA and Hamas.

In a Jan. 16 press conference, Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah demanded that Hamas hand over all public sectors in the Gaza Strip to the government of national consensus, including the Energy Authority, in order to end the crisis. Hamdallah’s statement came in response to Hamas’ statement on Jan. 11, in which the party approved the Palestinian factions’ proposal of reconstituting the Energy Authority’s board of directors and establishing a higher council for energy in the Gaza Strip.

The mutual accusations escalated when President Mahmoud Abbas, on the sidelines of a press conference held in Ramallah Jan. 17, stated, “Gaza’s power crisis has been laced with mistakes with regard to fuel, power distribution and bills collection, all of which are the responsibility of Gaza’s power authority under Hamas’ rule.”