March 9 (UPI) — Israel will immediately cut off the flow of electricity to Gaza, Israeli Energy Minister Eli Cohen ordered Sunday.
“I have now signed an order to cut off electricity to the Gaza Strip immediately,” Cohen said in a post on social media. “Enough with the talk, it’s time for action!”
Tania Hary, the executive director of the Gisha Legal Center for the Freedom of Movement human rights nonprofit in Tel Aviv, criticized Israel for its decision.
Hary said that, from the start of the war in October 2023 to late 2024, Israel did not sell or supply electricity to Gaza after damage was caused to powerlines by Hamas rocket fire and Israel’s subsequent decision to stop supply.
A line was connected to a water desalination plant in late 2024 but that line will now be cut too, she interpreted.
“Cutting electricity supply used for civilian purposes like desalinating water is not ‘using the tools at our disposal’ as Minister Cohen says,” Hary said.
“It’s committing the crimes at Israel’s disposal. Israel has obligations to residents of Gaza as occupying power and a party to hostilities.”
On the other side of the spectrum, her analysis was echoed by a self-described “Zionist” group called the Democratic Right that is against the establishment of a Palestinian state.
“You will understand what a scam: This is a single power line connected to a wastewater treatment plant, which does not produce drinking water,” the Democratic Right posted.
“Electricity on this line has been out of service almost since the beginning of the war, was recently reconnected, and has now been disconnected again.”
“It’s all crooked politics,” the Democratic Right posted. “For Gazans, this line doesn’t matter that much. Simply populism at its peak!”
The revelation from Cohen comes amid a tenuous future for a lasting ceasefire in Gaza after the end of the first phase of the negotiated plan. Last week, Israel cut off all humanitarian aid to Palestinians who are still alive in the enclave.
Without such aid, Gaza’s generators could also stop functioning while Israel has threatened to cut off access to water next.
And it comes just a couple of months after the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs warned that telecommunications services could go dark in Gaza.
