UN Middle East peace coordinator Nickolay Mladenov has said that the punitive financial measures taken by the Palestinian Authority (PA) against its rivals in Gaza only put pressure on the population.
Mladenov made his remarks during an interview conducted on Friday by the French newspaper Liberation.
“In fact the PA has put pressure on the population and not Hamas” the UN official said.
He warned that Gaza always faces the looming threat of military confrontation because of the deteriorating humanitarian and security situation pointing out that he had a difficult weekend last May when he and the Egyptians intervened to prevent another all-out military conflict.
Gaza has suffered recently from acute living and humanitarian crises after PA president Mahmoud Abbas deprived its population of medical treatment abroad suspended its medical supplies imposed heavy taxes on its fuel needs to generate electricity asked Israel to reduce electricity provided through its cross-border power lines lowered the salaries paid to civil servants and gave others early retirement.
