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Israel to begin cutting Gaza power, fuel in coming days
Via NY Transfer News Collective * All the News that Doesn't Fit
sent by Andy Pollack
[If this ain't a Nazi-style war crime (collective punishment against
civilians) I don't know what is.
The lead story in Haaretz -- and one buried paragraph in the NY
Times.-Andy]
Ha'aretz - Oct 25, 2007
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/917076.html
Israel to begin cutting Gaza power, fuel in coming days
By Amos Harel, Barak Ravid, and Avi Issacharoff
Haaretz Correspondents and Agencies
Israel will in the coming days begin cutting electricity to the Gaza
Strip as a response to Qassam rocket fire, after Defense Minister Ehud
Barak gave final approval to the defense establishment plan on Thursday.
In the first phase, Israel will disrupt electricity to various areas in
the Strip, and will also limit the supply of fuel to Gaza.
Decisions regarding the implementation of the sanctions will be taken
in accordance with developments.
Early Thursday morning, Palestinian militants fired two Qassam rockets
toward the western Negev. Both rockets struck open fields in the
southern town of Sd*****, causing to injuries or damage.
Thursday afternoon, four mortar shells struck near the Sufa checkpoint
on southern Gaza's border with Israel. There were no injuries.
Also Thursday, two Hamas militants and an Islamic Jihad member were
killed by Israel Defense Forces fire in two separate incidents in the
Gaza Strip.
The security establishment decided a few days ago to cut electricity to
the Beit Hanun area in the northern Strip in response to rocket fire,
in keeping with a September cabinet decision to designate Gaza as
"hostile territory." Power was to be cut for periods of two hours,
during the evening or the night.
On Tuesday, in an urgent meeting held following 8 Qassam and 12 mortar
attacks on Israel, senior defense officials decided to recommend to
Barak and the cabinet the imposition of further sanctions on the Gaza
Strip.
During the meeting, called by Deputy Defense Minister Matan Vilnai, it
was decided to recommend additional limitations on the delivery of
various types of fuel, services and merchandise.
"Because this is an entity that is hostile to us there is no reason for
us to supply them with electricity beyond the minimum required to
prevent a crisis," Vilnai told Army Radio.
According to Israeli and Palestinian officials, Gaza's population uses
about 200 megawatts of electricity, of which 120 are provided directly
from Israeli power lines, 17 are delivered from Egypt, and 65 are
produced at a local Palestinian plant.
Data was presented at the meeting stating that Israel has five electric
lines going into the Gaza Strip. Four deliver power to an army base in
the area of the Strip or to neighborhoods in Gaza City with hospitals,
and therefore they cannot be shut down. The fifth line transmits power
from Israel to Beit Hanun, the source of extensive rocket fire.
The defense establishment and the Israel Electric Cor****ation are
working on possible joint steps involving power. A plan is to be
presented soon to the government that would allow for power cuts that
do not necessitate bombing of power stations, an action that would
cause additional and long-term damage. The decision to proceed with
such a step would be made by the prime minister and the defense
minister, in the event of an escalation of rocket fire. The defense
establishment is re****tedly opposed to the idea of cutting the water
supply to the Strip.
Related articles:
* IDF formulates plan to limit services to civilians in Gaza
* Cabinet declares Gaza 'hostile territory'
* Olmert: We won't allow Gaza to slide into a humanitarian crisis
* Gaza Strip to remain without full electrical power for a year
*
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