NABLUS, West Bank -- Palestinian gas stations started shutting down after an Israeli fuel company cut off deliveries Wednesday, deepening concerns about an already-looming humanitarian crisis in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. An end to fuel supplies could cripple hospitals, halt food deliveries and keep people home from work...Dor Energy, the sole fuel provider to the Palestinians since interim peace agreements in the mid-1990s, cited growing debts for its decision...the company had threatened to cut off supplies twice this year, only to be paid at the last minute by the Palestinians.
Asaf Shariv, a spokesman for Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, said Israel would "absolutely not" bail out the Palestinians. Shariv said that because the Palestinian government resells gasoline to consumers, there is no reason for it not to have money to pay its debts. But Palestinian officials said their cash-strapped government is one of the biggest users of gasoline and is unable to pay the bill.
| Nope, no cause and effect there, none at all ... |