"PetroPalestine" to receive Venezuelan fuel shipments

The acting head of the Palestinian Authority met with his Venezuelan counterpart in Caracas on Friday, securing a deal for a major fuel shipment from the Latin American oil giant.

At a press conference after the meeting, Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro announced a forthcoming shipment of 240,000 barrels of mazut, a low quality fuel commonly broken down to make diesel, as well as an undisclosed amount of petrol.

Abbas, during his third visit to Venezuela in five years, thanked Maduro for “supporting Palestine” and “helping to break the monopoly that Israel has over our economy.”

On 7 May IPS reported that some Gazans, whose fuel supplies are limited by the Israeli blockade, were developing a domestic production process to turn waste plastic into liquid fuel similar to gasoline.

Maduro celebrated the deal, calling it the birth of “PetroPalestine”.

Venezuela boasts some of the world’s largest oil and natural gas reserves, and currently sends the majority of its exports to the US.

At the meeting, Abbas also sought Maduro’s backing for a Palestinian quest to be granted observer status in several Latin and South American alliances, including the Union of South American Nations.

The outcome of this aspect of their meeting was not disclosed during the following press conference, at which Maduro publicly signed an agreement regarding fuel shipments.

Maduro used the press conference to urge opposition leaders in his own country to enter into talks, in the midst of anti-government protests that have killed 42 people since February 2014.

The President has dubbed the protest movement a coup plot supported by the US.