April 26, 2008

GAZA, (PIC)-- Many of Gaza bakers warned that the Strip is on the verge of acute bread crisis because their bakeries would stop working during the coming few days due to scarcity of cooking gas and the depletion of flour.

The bakers said that Gaza is suffering from flour crisis after many suppliers failed to deliver the remaining quantities of flour in their warehouses to bakeries because of lack of fuel supplies for their trucks.

The flour suppliers reported that the coming days would witness the shutdown of majority of bakeries, adding that the Israeli occupation had not allowed in flour quantities for more than a week because of the closure of the Mintar crossing.

In a related context, the agriculture ministry in Gaza categorically denied Saturday the fake allegations of Mahmoud Al-Habbash, a minister in the PA unconstitutional government in Ramallah, about preventing farmers in the Strip from receiving their quotas of fuel.

In a statement received by the PIC, the ministry underlined that Habbash is one of the prominent PA officials who contributes to the Israeli siege on Gaza through his repeated meetings with Israeli officials without even mentioning the suffering of Palestinian farmers during those meetings.

The statement affirmed that Gaza is completely empty of all petroleum derivatives, calling in this regard on Arab and international media outlets to verify Habbash's allegations on the ground through asking farmers, fishermen and owners of gas stations and stores about the truth of fuel condition in Gaza.