VZCZCXRO2829
OO RUEHROV
DE RUEHJM #0143/01 0281503
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 281503Z JAN 08
FM AMCONSUL JERUSALEM
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 0354
INFO RUEHXK/ARAB ISRAELI COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK PRIORITY 2263
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC PRIORITY
RUEATRS/DEPT OF TREASURY WASHDC PRIORITY
RUEHBS/USEU BRUSSELS PRIORITY

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 JERUSALEM 000143 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
NEA FOR FRONT OFFICE; NEA/IPA FOR 
GOLDBERGER/SHAMPAINE/BELRADE; PRM FOR PRM/ANE; NSC FOR 
ABRAMS/PASCUAL; TREASURY FOR SZUBIN/LOEFFLER/NUGENT/HIRSON; 
BRUSSELS FOR LERNER; PLEASE PASS TO USAID FOR 
KUNDER/MCCLOUD/BORODIN 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: EAID ECON KPAL KWBG PGOV PHUM
SUBJECT: GAZA: RESTRICTED FUEL SHIPMENTS AT NAHAL OZ; AID 
SHIPMENTS THROUGH RAFAH 
 
REF: A. JERUSALEM 126 
 
     ¶B. JERUSALEM 111 
 
¶1.  (SBU) Summary:  Kerem Shalom and Sufa crossings have been 
closed since January 23 and 24, respectively.  Restricted 
fuel shipments were transferred at Nahal Oz fuel station on 
January 28.  Gaza City residents continue to experience eight 
to 12 hours without electricity each day.  The Petroleum and 
Gas Station Owners Association agreed to make fuel deliveries 
to UNRWA facilities in Gaza, but no such deal has been 
reached with PA hospitals, which are working to minimize 
internal electricity use.  According to the Gaza Coastal 
Municipalities Water Utility on January 28, an estimated 40 
percent of Gazans are without running water to their homes. 
End summary. 
 
Kerem Shalom and Sufa Crossings Closed 
-------------------------------------- 
 
¶2.  (U) WFP logistics contacts said that Kerem Shalom 
crossing was last open on January 23 and Sufa crossing last 
open on January 24 and no humanitarian shipments have passed 
through since that time. 
 
Fuel Deliveries Continue; 
Power Plant Output To Increase 
------------------------------ 
 
¶3.  (SBU) Palestinian Petroleum Corporation Director in Gaza 
Mujahid Salama said that the following fuel shipments passed 
through the Nahal Oz transfer station on January 28: 
-Industrial fuel for Gaza Power Plant - 315,000 liters 
-Diesel - 250,000 liters 
-Gasoline - 14,000 liters 
-Cooking gas - 200 tons 
 
¶4.  (SBU) Salama reported that the following fuel transfers 
were made at Nahal Oz on January 27: 
-Industrial fuel - 315,000 liters 
-Diesel - none 
-Gasoline - none 
-Cooking gas - 180 tons 
 
¶5.  (SBU) Gaza Power Plant Project Manager Rafiq Maliha said 
on January 28 that the Plant has enough fuel to produce 45 MW 
- its output the morning of January 28 (local) - until 
January 30.   He said that, given the expected continued flow 
of fuel this week at Nahal Oz, the Plant will increase output 
from 45 MW to 55 MW during the late afternoon of January 28, 
as Gaza City residents have experienced eight to 12 hours 
without electricity each day since mid-January. 
 
Diesel Fuel Deliveries in Gaza Limited 
-------------------------------------- 
 
¶6.  (SBU) Vice Chairman of the Petroleum and Gas Owners 
Association in Gaza Mahmoud Khozandar told Econoff on January 
28 that his membership had delivered 300,000 liters of diesel 
and 10,000 liters of gasoline to UNRWA facilities on January 
27-28.  He said that his association has not yet delivered 
diesel fuel to PA hospitals since the association's work 
stoppage began on January 22 (ref B). 
 
Aid Shipments Pass Through Rafah 
-------------------------------- 
 
¶7.  (SBU) Gaza-based WHO National Health Officer Mahmoud 
Daher said that 15 truckloads of pharmaceutical drugs, 
disposables, and food destined for Ministry of Health (MOH) 
facilities in Gaza City passed from Egypt into Gaza through 
the Rafah crossing on January 26-27.  Daher said that the 
donated goods came from Egyptian medical associations, and 
that the MOH in Gaza City was in the process of certifying 
the drugs prior to their use in PA hospitals.  He noted that 
hospitals continue to greatly limit the use of electricity to 
save fuel.  He confirmed that PA hospitals have not received 
fuel shipments from Nahal Oz in over a week, saying that PA 
hospital management talks with the Petroleum and Gas Owners 
Association have thus far been unfruitful. 
 
Forty Percent of Gazans Without 
 
JERUSALEM 00000143  002 OF 002 
 
 
Running Water To Their Homes 
---------------------------- 
 
¶8.  (SBU) Gaza Coastal Municipalities Water Utility engineer 
Monther Shoblak told Econoff that an estimated 40 percent of 
the Gaza population is without running water to their homes 
on January 28; yet those who have running water only receive 
it a few hours each day.  He noted that most Gaza families 
maintain one week's supply of water in rooftop storage 
containers, allowing for continued water flow in their homes 
despite municipal pump failure.  Shoblak said that most 
municipal generator-driven water and sewage pumps are not 
operating due to a lack of diesel fuel, while those driven by 
Gaza Power Plant electricity have continued to function. 
Shoblak said that 40,000 cubic meters of sewage a day 
continues to flow into the sea from the Gaza sewage system, 
as insufficient pumps are operational to deliver all waste to 
wastewater treatment facilities. 
 
DUFFY