Gaza to run out of fuel this morning because it isn't paying its bills

Get ready for more heartbreaking photos of Gaza children using candlelight and riding donkeys and blaming Israel for the "siege".

The truth is, Israel has been providing all the fuel needed both for petroleum and for the Gaza power plant - but Gazans haven't been paying for it.

Palestine Press Agency reports that the head of the gas station consortium in Gaza says that stations will run dry today because the debt owed to Israeli fuel companies has exceeded NIS 600 million (about $170 million.) Existing agreements between the PA and Israel agree that Israel will not provide fuel when the debt exceeds that value.

Palestine Today says that the Gaza power plant will cease operations today as well, but they blame the PA for imposing taxes on the fuel. Chief of the Energy Authority in Gaza, Fathi al-Sheikh Khalil said "All attempts to provide diesel fuel needed to operate the plant at the right price failed."

He said that the stockpiles of fuel for the power plant have been going down all week and will run out this morning.

Khalil said "the only solution" is for the PA to stop taxing diesel.

This means that the Gaza energy chief could have paid the higher price to at least the plant going for several hours a day, but instead decided to turn the plant completely off rather than pay for more expensive fuel.

Either way, you know that when Reuters publishes photos of dark streets in Gaza City, it will blame the "Israeli siege."