Updated: 2007-08-20 21:16

GAZA CITY - Gaza hummed with the sound of generators on a fourth day of power cuts on Monday as the European Union reviewed whether to resume paying for fuel of the territory's sole power plant.

A Palestinian shop keeper checks his generator placed outside a store in Gaza City. Gaza hummed with the sound of generators on a fourth day of power cuts as the European Union reviewed whether to resume paying for fuel to run the impoverished territory's sole power plant. [Agencies]

Candles disappeared from supermarket shelves as the coastal strip's residents stocked up on supplies in one of the world's most densely populated places where most people depend on outside aid for survival.

"Our life is becoming more and more difficult," said Umm Jaber, a 40-year-old mother of six in Gaza City. "They've closed the borders, they've cut jobs. Today they've cut the electricity, tomorrow they'll cut the air for us."

The power cuts were the latest blow to hit the territory that has been effectively sealed off by Israel since the Islamist Hamas movement seized control two months ago, sparking fears of a humanitarian crisis.

They also marked the latest point of contention between the Western-shunned Islamists and the Western-backed Palestinian government in the occupied West Bank, as the two sides blamed each other for the cuts.

"Everything in my refrigerators is rotting," said Abu Mohammed, a supermarket owner in Gaza City. "All of the ice cream stocks have been ruined. I'm losing a lot of money."

The power outages began late on Friday when Gaza's only power plant -- which according to the EU provides between 25 and 30 percent of the territory's power -- shut down all but one of its generators.

It did so because its diesel supplies had dwindled after Israel shut the fuel border crossing, citing security concerns.

Israel reopened the crossing on Sunday, but diesel for the plant was not delivered because the EU -- which finances the supplies -- suspended payments out of "security concerns," forcing the plant to close completely.

"We are still assessing the situation" and hope to resume supplies either later on Monday or Tuesday, an EU spokeswoman in Jerusalem said.

In Brussels, European Commission spokeswoman Antonia Mochan said however it would not resume paying for fuel unless it receives assurances that Hamas will not tax electricity in Gaza.

The EU's executive arm understands that Hamas "plans to introduce taxes on electricity bills in the Gaza Strip," Mochan said.

"As you can understand, this would not allow us to continue paying for fuel helping to produce the electricity," she said.

The EU blacklists Hamas as a terror group and refuses to have any dealings with the Islamists. If it provides fuel to a power plant, and Hamas earns money by introducing taxes on that plant's production, the bloc could be seen as indirectly financing the movement.

The power cuts have become a new source of tension between Hamas and president Mahmud Abbas's government in Ramallah.

"We warned for weeks that Gaza would fall into darkness if Hamas does not stop occupying the electricity company and does not stop holding on to millions of shekels that they collected from the people of Gaza," information minister Riyad al-Malki told reporters in Ramallah.

In Gaza, Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri said: "The leaders in Ramallah bear complete responsibility for the power cuts in Gaza. They have incited Israel and the European Union to stop the delivery of fuel."