PA: We’re not paying Gaza’s electric bills
Amid an ongoing fight between the Fatah-dominated Palestinian Authority and Hamas, the PA informed Israel that it is stopping payments for electricity that Israel supplies to the Gaza Strip.
The announcement came in the form of a statement by the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories. PA officials declined to comment on the decision.
The decision could make an existing electricity crisis in Gaza ever more dire for the Strip’s two million residents.
The move is a part of Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas’s efforts to pressure Hamas to return control of Gaza to the PA. Abbas warned two weeks ago that he would take “unprecedented measures” to end the division between the West Bank and Gaza, if Hamas does not concede its control of the Strip.
Hamas has said that it will not give into Abbas’s threats.
Since the split between the West Bank and Gaza in 2007, the PA has covered the monthly cost of NIS 40 million for electricity that Israel delivers to Gaza.
Fatah Central Committee member Abbas Zaki said that the PA is demanding Hamas dissolve its administrative committee and enable the PA government to operate in the Strip.
“They have to make these moves if we are going to end the division,” Zaki told The Jerusalem Post in a telephone call.
Hamas formed an administrative committee to govern Gaza in March. Hamas officials have said that it was created to make up for the PA government’s neglect of the Strip.
Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri said the PA’s decision to forgo paying for the electricity Israel transfers to Gaza constitutes “a dangerous escalation and a fit of insanity.”
Hamas official Ismail Rudwan reacted with fury, warning of “an explosion in the face of the Zionist occupation” and saying that anyone who had “collaborated with the occupation” would have cause for regret, whether from the Palestinian Authority or not.
“We will not pay a political price for this crime,” Radwan said.
Israel has not said how it will handle the crisis. It is possible that Israel will use part of the customs taxes it collects on behalf of the PA to pay for Gaza’s electricity needs.
During an electricity crisis in January, Turkey and Qatar sent millions of dollars and liters of fuel to power Gaza’s power plant. It is unclear if Turkey, Qatar or other members of the international community will send aid to power the Strip.
Reuters contributed to this report.