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Middle East

Abbas stops funding Gaza electricity to pressure Hamas

Associated Press
Published | Updated
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    FILE -- In this March 29, 2017 file photo, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas attends theArab League summit, at the Dead Sea, Jordan. Abbas' initial relief over having been invited to the White House is now clouded by concerns that he will have to say no to President Donald Trump in their first meeting Wednesday, May 3, 2017. A key worry is that Trump will ask Abbas to halt monthly stipends for thousands of Palestinian security prisoners held by Israel, a seemingly untenable step at a time when a mass hunger strike has led to an outpouring of Palestinian popular support for the inmates. (AP Photo/ Raad Adayleh, File) (The Associated Press)

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    File - In this Sunday, Jan. 15, 2017 file photo, a Palestinian family warm themselves up with a fire outside their makeshift house during a power cut in a poor neighborhood in town of Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip. The West Bank-based Palestinian autonomy government will stop paying for electricity in the power-starved Gaza Strip and "dry up" the flow of funds to the territory's Hamas rulers, a senior official said Wednesday. The Islamic militant Hamas seized Gaza in 2007, driving out forces loyal to Western-backed Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. (AP Photo/ Khalil Hamra, File) (The Associated Press)

RAMALLAH, West Bank – An official says the West Bank-based Palestinian government will stop paying for electricity in the power-starved Gaza Strip and "dry up" the flow of funds to the territory's Hamas rulers.

The Islamic militant Hamas seized Gaza in 2007, leading to the establishment of rival administrations — Hamas in Gaza and a self-rule government led by President Mahmoud Abbas in the West Bank. Abbas recently said he would exert financial pressure to force Hamas to cede ground.

West Bank official Hussein al-Sheikh told local radio Wednesday that his government would stop paying $11 million a month for electricity Israel sends to Gaza. Al-Sheikh says "we are not going to continue financing the Hamas coup in Gaza."

Israel announced the Palestinian decision last week. Al-Sheikh's comments were the first official confirmation.