ISRAEL:Defence minister Ehud Barak yesterday approved a plan whereby Israel will gradually begin reducing the supply of electricity and fuel to the Gaza Strip in a bid to halt the firing of rockets by militants.
Israeli officials have repeatedly said they will not impose restrictions that would harm the 1.5 million Palestinians living in the coastal strip, but with the firing of rockets into Israel increasing this week, Mr Barak has now given the green light for more punitive measures to be implemented.
"Because this is an entity that is hostile to us," said deputy defence minister Matan Vilnai, referring to the Hamas-controlled strip, "there is no reason for us to supply them with electricity beyond the minimum required to prevent a crisis." He said that the plan was "to begin gradually cutting the electricity supply without harming humanitarian sources like hospitals".
Gaza's population uses about 200 megawatts of electricity, of which Israel supplies 120. Some 65 megawatts are produced locally at a Palestinian power plant and 17 are supplied by Egypt.
According to the plan, if the rocket fire continues, Israel will begin reducing the electricity supply to specific areas in the strip and will also start reducing the number of tankers that carry fuel into Gaza on a daily basis.
Infrastructure minister Benjamin Ben-Eliezer said the continuing rocket fire left Israel with no choice but to take harsh measures. The Palestinians, he said, were "firing rockets at the same power station that provides them with electricity", a reference to Ashkelon station, which Palestinian militants consider a prime target.
Palestinian officials denounced the move as a "war crime", saying it would further worsen the humanitarian situation in Gaza.
A spokesman for Hamas, Taher al-Nunu, called the decision "a crime against one and a half million Palestinians living in Gaza". Palestinian militants said the Israeli moves would not succeed in subduing them. But political leaders cautioned that the results of a reduction in power supplies could be disastrous and some called on the international community to intervene to prevent Israel from taking such steps.