Humanitarian Disaster, Gaza

BBSNews 2007-11-25 -- By Mohammed Omer. Israel plans to greatly reduce the supply of electricity to the Gaza Strip beginning December 2, according to Jamal Al Dardasawi, spokesman of The Palestinian Electricity Company. Although Israel has given advance notice of its plans, this pre-punishment time will do nothing to alleviate the catastrophic consequences which will ensue, given that borders and firmly shut and Gazans will have no way to prepare and compensate for this vital loss.

Hamas supporters demonstrate against the decision by the Israeli Supreme Court which gave the government one week to cut off power in Gaza starting December 2, 2007. Image Credit: Mohammed Omer, Rafah

The announcement of Israel's latest collective punishment of Gazans comes despite denunciations and vocal outcry from Palestinian and international human rights groups recognizing as collective punishment the policy of cutting back utilities to Gaza.

The Gaza Strip is facing increasing hardships as a result of Israel's closure of Gazan borders and the consequent near-complete shutting down of Gaza's economy since last June. Several weeks ago Israel began cutting back on fuel supplies, but planned electricity reductions were delayed by an order from Israel's attorney general, who expressed concerns about humanitarian harm.

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