PA struggles to stop gas smuggling in the West Bank
Smuggling adulterated fuel from Israel into the Palestinian territories has been on the rise.
RAMALLAH, West Bank — So far, 2017 has been an exceptionally busy year for smugglers moving adulterated fuel from Israel to the West Bank. The fuel is not only causing damage to the machinery in which it is used, but also to the coffers of the Palestinian Authority (PA), which loses out on tax revenue that would normally be paid on regulated fuel.
On Sept. 17, the Preventive Security Service (PSS) announced the closure of an unlicensed point of sale for fuel in the Ramallah governorate. Earlier, on Sept. 8, the Palestinian Customs Police detained a smuggler with 3,000 liters of adulterated fuel headed for a gas station north of Ramallah. The customs police, in cooperation with the PSS, had on Aug. 30 shut down an unlicensed gas station in the Ramallah governorate, seizing its tanks and pumps. On Aug. 21, the customs police confiscated some 10,000 liters of smuggled fuel for noncompliance with specifications and standards and seized three gas pumps at two unlicensed gas stations in the town of al-Ram, north of Jerusalem. That same day, the PSS shut down an unlicensed gas station in Ramallah.
Luai Bani Odeh, head of public relations and information with the customs police, told Al-Monitor, “Since the beginning of the year until Aug. 31, 82,000 liters of adulterated fuel have been seized compared to 58,300 liters in 2016.”
Odeh said that adulterated fuel — fuel mixed with spent oil or a hydraulic fluid — is being smuggled from Israel into Area C, which is under full Israeli security and administrative control. From there, it is smuggled further into Palestinian cities and towns for distribution to individuals and unlicensed gas stations.
