Israeli has rejected a proposal to have a Turkish floating power-generating ship stationed off the coast of the Gaza Strip coast to help solve the electricity crisis in the enclave, a Palestinian official said on Sunday.



"The Israeli rejection [of the proposal] requires us to exert greater efforts to solve the electricity problem in Gaza," Palestinian National Economy Minister Mohamed Mustafa said in a statement. A report on the statement was published by the Turkish newspaper Daily Salah.



Turkish Energy Minister Taner Yildiz announced in mid-August that Turkey was planning to send a 100 megawatt power-generating ship to Gaza, pending Israeli approval.



The Gaza Strip requires 360 megawatts of electricity to meet the needs of its roughly 1.9 million residents. Only some 200 megawatts are currently available.



Gaza currently has three sources for electricity: Israel, which provides 120 megawatts; Egypt, which supplies 28 megawatts; and Gaza's power plant, which generates between 40 and 60 megawatts daily.

"The past few days have seen an increase in the operations of the electricity sector, extending for eight consecutive hours instead of the usual five," Mustafa said in his statement.



"We're currently waiting for the Israelis to extend power lines in order to increase supply to the electricity sector," Mustafa said.



Electricity in the Gaza Strip has been operating according to a rotation system since 2012. Selected areas receive a maximum of six hours before the electricity is cut off and provided to another sector.



The strip’s sole power plant went offline during the Gaza War in the summer, after its main fuel tank was hit by Israeli airstrikes. The plant remains functional, but it has stopped running due to Gaza’s chronic fuel shortage.

