The Gaza Strip’s ruling Hamas government charged that the abrupt shutdown of the local power plant on Saturday was the result of the Palestinian Authority’s desire to “punish the people of Gaza” while the P.A. charged that Hamas wanted to incite its citizens against the P.A. P.A. spokesman Ghassan Khatib told news agencies that the Palestinian Authority covers as much as 97% of the cost of operating the power plant. Power outages are already frequent and are expected to reach 18 hours a day until the power plant crisis is sorted out.