Gaza electricity company calls for new measures to end crisis

The director of a state-run electricity company in the Gaza Strip on Wednesday called for new initiatives to end the energy crisis in the coastal enclave. Maher Ayesh made the comments during a meeting organized by the Hamas run company entitled "Ending the electricity crisis requires agreement." Israel continues to supply the Gaza Strip with water and 70 percent of its electrical power, the rest being supplied by neighboring Egypt or local power plants. Gaza's energy sector is crippled by Israel's ban on importing materials for locally-implemented construction, leaving power stations unable to function without crucial supplies and paralyzed after severe damage inflicted by Israel's 2009 war on the coastal strip.