20 June 2017•Update: 21 June 2017
By Mohamed Majed
GAZA CITY
Palestine Israel reduced the amount of electricity being sent to the Hamas-run Gaza Strip by another eight megawatts on Tuesday, according to Gaza’s official power authority.
“The Israeli occupation authorities this morning cut extra eight megawatts of electricity from the Israeli power lines feeding Gaza, making the total reduction rise to 16 megawatts since yesterday,” the authority said in a statement.
“We were informed that the reduction will continue with this rate to include all Israel lines,” it added.
The authority vowed to hold “the Israeli authorities and the relevant parties” -- the latter being a veiled reference to the Ramallah government -- responsible for the grave consequences of the cuts.
On Monday, Israel reduced the amount of electricity to Gaza by eight megawatts in a move described by the Gaza’s official power authority as “a first step toward the implementation of a recent decision, taken at the request of the Palestinian government in Ramallah, to gradually reduce electricity to Gaza”.
Last week, the Israeli government agreed to reduce the electricity supply to blockaded enclave after the Palestinian Authority (PA), which leads the Ramallah government, reduced by 30 percent the amount it pays each month for Israeli electricity.
Before the latest reduction, Israel had supplied the Gaza Strip with 120 megawatts of electricity (out of 450 megawatts needed), which now represents the strip’s main source of energy after its only functioning power plant went offline in April.
The same month saw Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, who heads up both the PA, vow to take “unprecedented measures” to pressure Hamas -- which has governed the Gaza Strip since 2007 -- to relinquish control of the embattled coastal territory.
