UN gets last-minute Gaza fuel offer
6/5/08
The UN agency that provides food for Palestinian refugees says it can continue to distribute aid in the Gaza Strip for another 20 days having announced that it was once again on the verge of having to suspend deliveries. The statement from the UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) on Monday said a delivery of fuel would allow them to continue. The Israeli blockade of Gaza has caused low supplies of fuel and basic goods for the 1.5 million inhabitants. John Ging, the agency director, said: “Thankfully this afternoon there is a supply of fuel coming in for us, so we won’t now have to stop our operations for the second time in 10 days. “The amounts that are coming in will keep us going for about 20 days.”
See: http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/9FDE2E8A-E83C-4656-868E-FA64E107C470.htm
Palestinian police encounter resistance as they try to assert control in West Bank
6/5/08
Hundreds of newly deployed Palestinian police came under fire Tuesday as they took up positions in a volatile town, highlighting the challenge President Mahmoud Abbas faces as he pushes forward with a US-backed programme to assert authority in the West Bank. Israel has repeatedly complained that Abbas is not moving fast enough against fighters, and the success of his security plan could play a large part in current peace talks. The moderate Palestinian president’s status was badly undermined last summer, when the Islamic Hamas expelled his numerically superior forces from Gaza and overran the territory, two years after Israel pulled out. Unlike Gaza, the Israeli military still occupies the West Bank, patrolling many areas, conducting arrest raids against suspected fighters and operating hundreds of roadblocks and checkpoints.
See; http://www.jordantimes.com/?news=7689
Tags: Food, Fuel, Israel, UN West Bank Police