Egyptian Parliamentary Delegation Leaves for Gaza to Break Israeli Blockade

Egyptian parliamentary delegation leaves for Gaza

[ 28/03/2012 - 10:26 AM ]

CAIRO, (PIC)--

An Egyptian parliamentary delegation left Egypt on Wednesday morning for the Gaza Strip to see closely the humanitarian situation there and meet with Palestinian officials and leaders of the resistance factions.

Head of the parliamentary committee on Arab affairs Mohamed Adris, who will lead the delegation, told the Palestinian information center (PIC) that the visit is aimed at breaking the blockade on Gaza and exploring avenues to address its impacts on the health situation and the lives of citizens, especially the fuel crisis.

Adris added that he and his fellow lawmakers will meet with officials from the Palestinian government in Gaza and leaders from the resistance factions to discuss the latest developments regarding the issues of power and fuel and the role that can be played by the parliament to end this crisis.

The Egyptian delegation intends to stay in Gaza for several days.

Recently, the Egyptian parliament agreed to expel the Israeli ambassador to Egypt and recall the Egyptian ambassador to Israel in protest at Israel's latest crimes in Gaza.

The parliament also stressed the need to stop supplying Israel with Egyptian natural gas immediately and a delegated a committee to follow up the compliance of the Egyptian government with the statement issued unanimously in this regard.

Egyptian MPs head to Gaza for fuel crisis report

Published today (updated) 28/03/2012 11:06

EL-ARISH, Egypt (Ma'an) --

An Egyptian parliamentary delegation will arrive in Gaza on Wednesday to meet with Hamas officials over the ongoing fuel crisis in the Palestinian territory, an Egyptian security official said.

He told Ma'an 28 officials from the committee of Arab affairs in Egypt’s parliament, including well-known human rights champion Amr Hamzawi, will cross into Gaza via the Rafah border.

The delegation will meet with government officials to hear their urgent demands over the two-day visit. It will prepare a report on the situation in Gaza for discussion in the Egyptian parliament.

The sole power plant in Gaza has shut down four times since February due to chronic fuel shortages, causing rolling power outages of up to 18 hours a day.

Ambulances and fire trucks have been taken out of service and bakeries were forced to reduce their hours as petrol pumps ran dry across Gaza.

The latest crisis began after Egypt cracked down on tunnels smuggling fuel into Gaza. Egypt, which is also experiencing fuel shortages, urged Hamas to import fuel across its border with Israel.

Hamas refused, citing concerns that Israel would then have the power to block supplies.

Meanwhile, Cairo was reluctant to transfer fuel through the Rafah crossing over fears it would exempt Israel from its responsibilities as an occupying power.

The Palestine Electricity Company on Tuesday announced a deal with Egypt to provide gas to the Gaza Strip, and said engineers had been instructed to assess the best route for a network of pipelines.

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