Israel Electric Corporation cuts power to Hebron

Israel’s state-owned electric company temporarily cut power to the West Bank city of Hebron on Tuesday, continuing a two-week program of disrupting supplies to Palestinian cities and towns, Haaretz reported.

The IEC says the Palestinian authorities have racked up a debt of 1.74 billion shekels ($460 million), which the company can no longer absorb. Of that sum, the IEC says NIS 300,000 ($79,350) is owed by the Palestinian Authority.

The Palestinian-run Jerusalem District Electricity Company, which according to the IEC is responsible for NIS 1.4 billion ($371 million) of the debt, claimed in the High Court Tuesday that the IEC’s behavior constituted “collective and disproportionate punishment” and showed “blatant and harmful disregard for a public that pays its electricity bills regularly.”

It further argued that the IEC’s move compromises basic consumer rights to access an essential resource.

The cuts were all the worse given the current, sensitive political situation in Jerusalem and the West Bank, the petition said, and the action was being taken despite disagreements over the size of the debt, and despite a pending lawsuit against the IEC in the Jerusalem Municipal Court.

Palestinian officials say the Israelis gave them no prior warning of a power cut to Bethlehem on Monday. The IEC said it was halving its supply to Bethlehem after taking a similar, short-lived step in the city of Jericho last week.

The Bethlehem area is also due to be hit with four-hour cuts on Wednesday, with Ramallah and nearby Al Bireh in the line of sight for power outages on Thursday.

“I don’t know of any company that would be agree to do nothing about a NIS 1.74 million debt owed by another company,” IEC Chairman Yiftah Ron Tal said. “The time has come to put an end to the situation in which the debts just bloom. We weren’t left with any choice. We’re limiting electricity in a proportionate way. I call on those with authority to help us to collect the debts.”

Israeli government officials said they were also not informed by the IEC of the planned cuts, according to Army Radio.

The IEC also cuts power to Israeli homes over unpaid debts.

The Palestinian Authority is struggling financially and depends largely on foreign aid. It relies heavily on Israel for electricity supplies, which also provides electricity to the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip.

Under an economic agreement signed with the PA in 1994, Israel collects around NIS 600-700 million each month in customs duties levied on goods destined for Palestinian markets that transit through Israeli ports.

It transfers the money after deducting approximately NIS 100 million for expenses such as Palestinian hospitalizations in Israel, sewage treatment and covering part of the electricity debt, which has remained largely stable in recent months.

In January 2015, the IEC cut power to Palestinian cities for a number of hours every day over a similar debt, only to renew it a few weeks later.