Israel cuts off electricity to two Palestinian cities in 'collective punishment' over unpaid debts
Israel’s
state-owned electricity company briefly cut power to two Palestinian
cities today to press for payment of what it said was £305m owed by the
Palestinian government.
Reuters
“The
Israel Electric Corporation limited for 45 minutes the supply of
electricity to five power lines in Nablus and Jenin,” the company said,
adding that further cuts were possible. The mayor of Nablus, Ghassan
al-Shakaa, described the blackouts as “collective punishment” and
“politically motivated”.
Israel Electric said it had “long warned” about the debt.
Palestinians
in the West Bank, territory Israel captured in the 1967 Middle East
War, are largely dependent on electricity supplied by Israel Electric
Corp.
A
Palestinian power company in occupied East Jerusalem also buys
electricity from IEC and sells it to the Palestinian Authority (PA),
which exercises limited self-rule in the West Bank under interim peace
deals with Israel.
Shaka'a
told Reuters that Israeli power cuts would do more damage to a
Palestinian economy already hit by Israel's withholding of the monthly
transfer of more than $100 million in tax revenues that it collects on
behalf of the PA.
Israel
suspended the transfers last month after the Palestinians applied to
join the International Criminal Court, where war crimes prosecutions
could be pursued. The United States has expressed concern about the PA's
viability if the funds remain frozen.
In
previous instances in which Israel has withheld Palestinian tax
revenues, some Israeli officials have proposed that some of the money be
used to pay off some of the PA's electric bill.
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