Live UpdateFrom the Liveblog of Monday, June 19, 2017
Hamas asks Europe, UN, Arabs to intercede with Abbas to restore Gaza’s electricity
Gal Berger, Palestinian affairs reporter for Israel’s public broadcaster Kan, reports that that the Hamas terror group is asking the United Nations, European governments and Arab states to intercede with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and pressure him to restore Gaza’s electricity supply from Israel.
The Israeli cabinet voted last week to acquiesce to Abbas’s request to cut electricity provisions to Gaza, which is under a joint Israeli-Egyptian blockade, amid an ongoing spat between the PA and Hamas over control of Gaza and of Palestinian tax monies.
According to Berger, Hamas’s letters to the various governments indicate the group believes the electricity cuts could make conditions in the coastal territory intolerable.