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Electricity in Gaza (archive)
Photo: AP

Israel helps fix faulty Gaza electricity

After Gaza power grid blacks out, IDF enters coastal strip to transfer equipment provided by Israeli power company to help fix Palestinian network

While the debate continues to rage over the proposal of cutting off Israeli-supplied electricity to the Gaza Strip as a punitive measure in wake of unceasing Palestinian rocket fire towards southern Israel, Israel is actually making sure the power is up and running smoothly along the coastal strip.

 

Earlier this week a technical malfunction in the electricity network in northern Gaza caused a power outage that some Palestinians thought was the beginning of the "Gaza blackout" plan proposed by Defense Minister Ehud Barak.

 

To solve the problem, the Israel Electric Corp. (IEC) agreed to transfer the equipment needed to fix the network to their Gazan counterparts. Senior Israeli officials confirmed that the IDF had facilitated the transfer.

 

The officials further said that the operation had been a success and the Palestinians were able to restore power. 

 

The IEC emphasized that none if its personnel entered Gaza or directly participated in the repairs.

 

The strategic tactic of cutting Gaza's electricity as a non-violent response to the Qassam attacks was first presented by Barak during a cabinet meeting. The initiative won a great deal of support among many government officials, including Justice Minister Daniel Friedmann.

 

Friedmann later told off Attorney General Menachem Mazuz for vetoing the proposed cutoff to Gaza.

 

"The attorney general is supposed to offer his opinion on whether (something) is good or not good. Here the attorney general has become an army commander, an entire military command.

 

"There are things that advisors do and there are things that the government needs to do. The attorney general is supposed to give advice. The government needs to do," Friedmann said.

 


פרסום ראשון: 11.15.07, 22:15
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