Middle East Monitor / October 28, 2021
The Israeli Electricity Company (IEC) is to cut the electricity supply to several parts of the occupied West Bank in response the Palestinian Authority (PA)’s debts, local media reported yesterday.
According to the Israeli Public Broadcaster Kan, the energy company, the action is being taken as a result of the 500-million shekel ($157 million) debt not paid by the PA. The PA has been informed of the decision, the broadcaster said.
This is not the first time the electricity supply has been cut to the occupied West Bank, in December 2019 the IEC put in place daily power cuts which lasted three hours disrupting the supply to a number of Palestinian cities. The cuts were to press for payment for what it said to be $519 million owed by the Palestinian electricity company, according to Reuters.
The cuts lasted a little over a month, until the Palestinian run Jerusalem District Electricity Company (JDECO), which buys electricity from the IEC and then sells it to customers in the West Bank, signed a loan agreement with several Palestinian banks in order to pay off the debt it owed.
Palestinians in the West Bank rely on IEC for over 95 per cent of their electricity supply.
