Foreign Correspondence

[fuagf]

As pressure mounts, Israel agrees to allow
Gaza some fuel and supplies .. By Isabel Kershner
(Page 2 of 2)

On Monday, people in Gaza blamed both Hamas and Israel for their situation. The militant Islamic
group Hamas seized control of Gaza last June, after routing its rival, Fatah, in a brief factional war.

"The Hamas government brought us poverty, but Israel is the enemy," said Nidal
Shehada, 22, a taxi driver, who had enough fuel to last until the end of the day.

"The rockets are a pretext," said Um Muhammad Zibda, a woman in her early 40s.
Israel's real goal, she said, was to bring about the collapse of the Hamas government.

Suheil Skeik, general manager of Gaza Electricity Distribution Corporation, said that
his workers had been trying to transfer electricity delivered by Israel to northern
Gaza to the main hospital in Gaza City, but that they were having technical problems.

Mekel, the Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman, said that Israel would
continue to monitor the situation in Gaza and take decisions accordingly.

"We hope that Hamas got the message," Mekel said, noting that the sharp decrease
in rocket launchings since Saturday showed that Hamas could control the fire.

Taghreed El-Khodary contributed reporting from Gaza City.

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