Special report: Palestine-Israel Relations

    GAZA, April 20 (Xinhua) -- Palestinian petroleum agency on Sunday expected that Israel will resume reduced fuel shipments to Gaza Strip after Jews' Passover holidays later in April. Starting tomorrow, Israel will also resume sending industrial diesel to Gaza power plants following a three-day suspension due to the weekend holidays, said Mujahed Salama, director of the petroleum agency.

    As for the car diesel and benzene, Salama expected they will be resumed on April 27 when the Passover holidays end. Gas stations in Gaza have been run out of these two kinds of fuel for more than two weeks.

    Israel reduced fuel supplies, particularly the car diesel and benzene, into Gaza Strip since September, three months after Hamas took over the coastal enclave by force. Though also reduced, the cooking gas and the power station's diesel continued to flow in.

    Yesterday, Palestinian ambulances stopped working for insufficient fuel, according to a Health Ministry official. Israel says the reductions were meant to put pressure on Hamas and force it to halt attacks against Israel. Recently, Hamas focused its attacks on Israeli army posts and the closed crossing points into Gaza.