Hamas claiming credit now for fuel it never wanted

Fuel is now being pumped from Israel to Gaza via the Kerem Shalom crossing, and it is coming from an Israeli company Dor Alon and being paid for by the PA. This is being done despite strenuous efforts by Hamas over the past six weeks to not accept any fuel that comes via Israel.

Egyptian sources, however, say that the 450,000 liters being pumped today is being provided by Egypt, through Kerem Shalom. COGAT confirms that it is from Dor Alon, though.

Either way, the Gaza fuel crisis was entirely because of Hamas' refusal to accept fuel from Israel.

But now that the fuel is being pumped in exact opposition to the way Hamas tried to get it (via Rafah from Egypt without PA involvement), Hamas is taking full credit.

Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri said "The contacts and meetings between the SPLM and the government continued with Egyptian officials on a daily basis around the clock, On this basis, it has informed us that our brothers the Egyptians will be pumping fuel to run the power plant, already today. Hamas praised the role of government officials, led by Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh of Hamas, Dr. Mousa Abu Marzouk, who played a special role with our brothers the Egyptians in this matter, stressing the movement continued efforts to provide a radical solution to the fuel crisis."

Even more cynically, Hamas is arranging for rallies by Gazans this afternoon to protest the fuel crisis, presumably so they direct their anger at the PA, Egypt, Israel or anyone else besides Hamas.

It cannot be stressed enough: Hamas caused this crisis, deliberately, in order to get Egypt to pump fuel through Rafah and to provide cheaper fuel that Hamas could tax and enrich its terror operations. All the suffering that Hamas residents went through was for Hamas political reasons.

There is one other lesson here. As soon as Gazans started being vocal about their displeasure with Hamas, Hamas caved. Even though Hamas pretends to be on the side of the "Arab Spring," the terror organization is just as frightened of a "Gaza Spring" as any Arab country, and Gaza residents have the power to scare the hell out of the Islamist terror dictators that run the Strip.