Haniyeh calls on Sarkozy to help resolve Mideast crisis
In long letter to French president, dismissed Hamas prime minister urges France to come to Palestinians' aid, saying he welcomes 'all international efforts' aimed at improving regional security
In a long letter to French President Nicolas Sarkozy, Haniyeh said the Hamas-run government in the Gaza Strip is "prepared to cooperate with all international efforts to establish security and stability in the region."
But in Sunday's letter, Haniyeh praised Sarkozy's address, saying he had put forward some "positive and encouraging initiatives" at the conference.
"We followed your speech at the recent Paris conference in which we found many positive and encouraging initiatives aimed at ending the occupation and restoring the legal rights of the Palestinian people and ending their suffering."
The former prime minister also said he would welcome a French role in resolving the factional struggle with his Fatah party rivals that has embroiled the Palestinian territories in recent months.
Haniyeh nevertheless again criticized the current round of peace talks between Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, which the Islamist movement has always rejected.
Abbas stripped Haniyeh of the premiership in June last year after Hamas gunmen routed security forces loyal to Abbas and seized control of the Gaza Strip after a week of bloody skirmishes.
Since then Israel and the international community have sought to bolster Abbas through the recently relaunched Middle East peace process while isolating Hamas – which is pledged to Israel's destruction – in its Gaza enclave.
Gazans fear further power cuts
Meanwhile, Gaza residents fear a deterioration in the economic situation in the Strip as a result of the Israeli power supply cuts. The High Court of Justice recently gave the Israeli government the green light to cut the fuel supply, including fuel needed to operate power stations in the Strip.
Following the court decision, the Palestinian electricity company is preparing to reduce the power supply to Gaza's residents and to increase the number of systematic and controlled power cuts to different areas in the Strip. Gaza receives its power supply from a local power station, from Egypt and from Israel.
Nowadays, most areas in the Strip experience power cuts for about two hours a day. Palestinian Authority officials fear that the Israeli actions may lead to longer power cuts of about eight hours a day.
The Palestinian electricity in the Strip has announced that it plans to build a clear timetable for the power supply to the different areas, after the designated amount of fuel to each area is reduced from 450 liters to 250 liters.
The power supply from Egypt to the Palestinian Authority has recently been increased in a bid to reduce the Palestinians' dependency on Israel in terms of power supply. Kana Obeid, deputy chairman of the Palestinian electricity company, said that Israel has already begun to gradually reduce the fuel supply to the Strip.
"A further reduction of the power supply could lead to a humanitarian disaster," he warned. He noted that the Palestinians were seeking alternatives for the fuel's storage with Egypt's help.
