RAMALLAH (Ma’an) -- Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Salam Fayyad said Sunday an expected Hamas delegation had not arrived in Cairo to join talks on ending the Gaza Strip's fuel crisis.
Palestinian officials headed to Egypt on Saturday to discuss the mechanism for ongoing fuel pumping into Gaza after Egypt cut off supplies through an underground tunnel network.
While an Egyptian security official said Hamas leader Mahmoud Zahhar crossed from Gaza to Egypt on Egypt, Fayyad said a Hamas delegation did not join talks.
"I asked the PA delegation to wait one more day, however the Hamas delegation did not arrive," Fayyad said in a statement.
Gaza has been beset by power cuts of up to 18 hour a day since mid-February, as a dispute on the route of fuel shipments rumbles on.
The Egyptian official said Zahhar headed to Cairo as the first stop of an international tour to seek support for the movement's position on a fuel crisis in the Gaza Strip.
Hamas wants fuel purchased from Egypt to be delivered through its Rafah terminal -- the only crossing into Gaza not under Israeli control.
Egypt says Rafah does not have the capacity for fuel pumping and re-fitting the crossing is restricted under international agreements.
Despite the delivery of a day's supply of fuel via Israeli-controlled terminal Kerem Shalom on Friday, Fayyad stressed it was a temporary solution, and called on the Gaza Energy Authority to step up its contribution to paying for fuel.
Front Page Features