Palestinian Authority pulls the plug on Israeli electricity to Gaza

The Palestinian Authority and Hamas, who controls the enclave, are in a bitter power struggle, as the Trump administration is expected to be more sympathetic to Israel.  

|
Mohammed Salem/Reuters
A Palestinian man walks during power cut at Shati refugee camp in Gaza City, Gaza, April 25, 2017. The Palestinian Authority will no longer pay for Israeli electricity to Gaza, said Israeli officials.

The Palestinian Authority will no longer pay for the electricity Israel supplies to Gaza, Israeli officials said, a move that could lead to a complete power shutdown in the territory whose 2 million people already endure blackouts for much of the day.

Thursday's decision was another sign of a hardening of Palestinian Authority (PA) policy towards its Hamas rivals, who control the enclave.

A senior United Nations official expressed concern about the deteriorating energy situation in Gaza and called for swift action by Israeli and Palestinian Authorities and the international community to ensure basic services keep running.

The Western-backed Authority and Hamas are in deadlock in a struggle over a unity deal that could loosen the Islamist group's hold on the Gaza Strip, territory it won control of from forces loyal to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in 2007.

A Hamas spokesman, Sami Abu Zuhri, called the decision to halt the payments "a grave escalation and an act of madness."

Israeli authorities deal with the PA on electrical and fuel supplies for Gaza because Israel does not engage with Hamas, which it regards as a terrorist organization.

The PA has already taken several steps, such as taxing Israeli fuel it purchases for Gaza's sole power plant – which has been unable to come up with the funds and stopped operating two weeks ago – to pressure Hamas into new Palestinian elections.

Regaining a measure of control over Gaza could empower Mr. Abbas politically as Israel and the Palestinians await a widely expected push by US President Donald Trump for a revival of peace efforts that stalled in 2014.

"The Palestinian Authority has informed (us) it will immediately stop paying for the electricity that Israel supplies to Gaza through 10 power lines that carry 125 megawatts, or some 30 percent of Gaza's electrical needs," said a statement from Coordination of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT), Israel's military liaison agency with the PA.

With the generating plant off-line and Egyptian supplies via power lines notoriously spotty, Israeli electricity has been vital, keeping power on for Gazans, although for only four to six hours a day. Hospitals, ministries, and many wealthier apartment blocks have generators but fuel is costly. "With power outages at 20 hours a day and emergency fuel supplies running out, basic services are grinding to a halt," Robert Piper, the UN coordinator for humanitarian aide and development activities, said in a statement.

Spokesmen for the Palestinian Authority and the Palestinian Energy Authority declined comment.

Israel charges the PA 40 million shekels ($11 million) a month for the electricity, deducting the sum from the transfers of Palestinian tax revenues that Israel collects on behalf of the Authority.

Israeli sources said Gaza needs 400 megawatts of power to ensure full 24-hour supply to its residents.

That goal is not being met even when the power plant is operational. It usually produces 60 megawatts, added to the 125 megawatts supplied by Israel and 25 megawatts that come across power lines from Egypt. 

You've read  of  free articles. Subscribe to continue.
Real news can be honest, hopeful, credible, constructive.
What is the Monitor difference? Tackling the tough headlines – with humanity. Listening to sources – with respect. Seeing the story that others are missing by reporting what so often gets overlooked: the values that connect us. That’s Monitor reporting – news that changes how you see the world.

Dear Reader,

About a year ago, I happened upon this statement about the Monitor in the Harvard Business Review – under the charming heading of “do things that don’t interest you”:

“Many things that end up” being meaningful, writes social scientist Joseph Grenny, “have come from conference workshops, articles, or online videos that began as a chore and ended with an insight. My work in Kenya, for example, was heavily influenced by a Christian Science Monitor article I had forced myself to read 10 years earlier. Sometimes, we call things ‘boring’ simply because they lie outside the box we are currently in.”

If you were to come up with a punchline to a joke about the Monitor, that would probably be it. We’re seen as being global, fair, insightful, and perhaps a bit too earnest. We’re the bran muffin of journalism.

But you know what? We change lives. And I’m going to argue that we change lives precisely because we force open that too-small box that most human beings think they live in.

The Monitor is a peculiar little publication that’s hard for the world to figure out. We’re run by a church, but we’re not only for church members and we’re not about converting people. We’re known as being fair even as the world becomes as polarized as at any time since the newspaper’s founding in 1908.

We have a mission beyond circulation, we want to bridge divides. We’re about kicking down the door of thought everywhere and saying, “You are bigger and more capable than you realize. And we can prove it.”

If you’re looking for bran muffin journalism, you can subscribe to the Monitor for $15. You’ll get the Monitor Weekly magazine, the Monitor Daily email, and unlimited access to CSMonitor.com.

QR Code to Palestinian Authority pulls the plug on Israeli electricity to Gaza
Read this article in
https://www.csmonitor.com/World/Middle-East/2017/0427/Palestinian-Authority-pulls-the-plug-on-Israeli-electricity-to-Gaza
QR Code to Subscription page
Start your subscription today
https://www.csmonitor.com/subscribe