Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 4 July 2017
261. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if he will raise the question of the curtailment of the electricity supply to Gaza with the Israeli authorities that as the primary actor are adding to the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Gaza as a result of years of restrictions imposed by the Israeli Government. [31344/17]
View answerIsrael is not the primary actor in this dispute over electricity supplies to Gaza, which is principally one between the Palestinian Authority and the de facto Hamas authorities in Gaza, who still control the Strip. For some years Hamas has charged customers in Gaza for electricity supplied from Israel, but refused to pass these revenues to the Palestinian Authority, which pays Israel to supply the electricity. No government can be expected to tolerate this situation indefinitely.
The Palestinian Authority has decided to reduce the amount of electricity it pays Israel to supply to Gaza, and the reduction of supply by Israel to Gaza, which commenced on 19 June, is a consequence of that.
Notwithstanding the basis for the problem, the humanitarian consequences for Gaza are potentially very severe. The consequences not just for household supply, but for pumping of water and sewage, and supplies to hospitals, schools and other utilities, are obvious. Mains electricity supply was already averaging only four hours per day following the shutdown in April of the only power plant in Gaza due to a dispute between the Palestinian Authority and Hamas over fuel supplies.
Some additional power is being provided to key facilities by generators, but these are not designed to run full time and fuel is in any case short. In recent days however, it is reported that the power plant in Gaza has been able to resume operations with fuel supplied by Egypt, thus allowing for an increase in supply to users. It is not clear at this time how sustainable this arrangement is likely to be.
I repeat the call of my predecessor for all sides who have a part in this issue – the Palestinian Authority, Hamas and Israel – to act promptly and realistically to resolve this dispute, in the interests of the people of Gaza. Ultimately, full responsibility for electricity supply and billing in Gaza should be in the hands of the Palestinian Authority.
I hope to visit the region later this month for initial meetings with local leaders. While my primary focus on that occasion will be on the need to revitalise the overall peace process, I would expect also to be raising the problems of Gaza, both this particular issue of power supply, and the wider ongoing problems caused by the excessive Israeli restrictions on the territory.
