Israel’s Defense Ministry orders Gaza be reconnected to Israeli electric grid and power be provided for humanitarian needs, drawing fire from ministers and lawmakers.
By David Rosenberg, World Israel News
Israel began reconnecting the Gaza Strip to the country’s national electricity grid Tuesday, on the orders of Defense Minister Yoav Gallant (Likud).
The Coordinator for the Government’s Activities in the Territories (COGAT), a department within the Defense Ministry, announced the move Tuesday, saying that Israel would supply the Gaza Strip with electricity for humanitarian purposes, including operating the coastal enclave’s sewage system and water desalination facilities, the latter being capable of supplying 20,000 liters of water a day.
Gallant defended the move, saying it was necessary in order to provide Gazans with “basic humanitarian needs.”
In a statement released Tuesday, an IDF spokesperson said supplying Gaza with electricity would also benefit Israeli soldiers operating in the area by curbing the spread of diseases.
“The eyes of the world, and certainly the eyes of the United States, were focused on the question of how we would handle the humanitarian and civilian aspects of the operation in Rafah,” the IDF said.
“The purpose of the power hookup is to operate a water desalination plant that will provide drinking water to the area where most of the Gaza population now resides. This is water for sanitation and disease prevention – which will endanger both our soldiers and our hostages.”
On Tuesday, Israeli engineering teams began work in the central Gaza city of Deir al-Balah to reconnect Gaza’s electricity infrastructure with the Israeli grid.
Following the announcements Tuesday, lawmakers from both the Coalition and the Opposition castigated the decision.
Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich called on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to overrule Gallant’s “madness.”
“We’ve lost our minds. We are rebuilding Gaza with our own hands…. especially the hospitals, i.e. the terrorist centers.”
“Mr. Prime Minister, end this madness. This time it will be impossible to say that we did not know as with the release of the director of the terrorist headquarters in Shifa yesterday.”
Former Defense Minister MK Avidgor Liberman, a member of the Opposition and a fierce critic of Netanyahu, slammed Tuesday’s decision as “folly.”
“The government of folly. After the release of the senior terrorist, the new Dr. Mengele, the director of Shifa Hospital, the government continues in the same direction.”
“The infrastructure work in Gaza ahead of the expected connection to Israeli electricity are an even greater folly,” Liberman continued. “The decision that must be made today is a complete disconnection between Israel and the Gaza Strip. No electricity, no water, no fuels, and no goods – a complete disconnection.”
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