The move came at the orders of the Cabinet, an official told JNS.
Akiva Van Koningsveld
(JNS)
Israel is preparing to reactivate one power line to the Gaza Strip four months after cutting the flow of electricity to the enclave, the Defense Ministry’s Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) unit confirmed in a statement to JNS on Thursday.
At the orders of the Cabinet, “the necessary measures are being advanced to enable the targeted activation of the Kela power line for the purpose of operating the southern desalination facility in Gaza,” COGAT told JNS. “Accordingly, the political echelon has instructed the Ministry of Energy to activate the line.
“It is emphasized that there has been no change in the overarching directive not to resume the supply of electricity to the Gaza Strip through other power lines from Israel,” the body noted.
The decision to reconnect the European Union-funded seawater desalination plant in Deir el-Balah—the only one in the Gaza Strip—to the Jewish state’s power grid was made during a Cabinet discussion on July 5 and came in response to international pressure, Israel’s Channel 14 News reported earlier this week.
The facility’s full production capacity is up to 18,000 cubic meters per day, but after Israeli Minister of Energy and Infrastructure Eli Cohen ordered to stop supplying electricity in March, its output dropped to approximately 2,000 cubic meters per day, according to Channel 14.
Jerusalem’s decision to halt the electricity supply came in response to the Hamas terrorist organization’s rejection of the ceasefire extension proposed by U.S. Mideast envoy Steve Witkoff, which Israel accepted.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced in March that no goods or supplies would enter Gaza until further notice, reaffirming that Jerusalem will not agree to a truce without the release of hostages.
The Cabinet vote on restarting the energy supply to the Strip came days before the European Union—which contributed €10 million (about $10.9 million) to the desalination plant—announced Jerusalem had agreed to “significant steps” to improve the humanitarian situation.
Measures agreed upon included increasing the number of supply trucks entering each day, opening additional crossings to the north and south of the Strip, reopening Jordanian and Egyptian aid routes, resuming fuel deliveries to aid facilities and repairing infrastructure, said Kaja Kallas, the E.U.’s high representative for foreign affairs and security policy.
Asked by JNS on Thursday whether the reactivation of the Kela power line was part of these steps, an Israeli official declined to answer, saying that “COGAT’s activities are based on the Israeli Cabinet decisions.”
A spokesperson for the National Public Diplomacy Directorate in the Prime Minister’s Office declined to respond to a request for comment.
Knesset lawmakers of the Likud and Religious Zionism parties voted on Wednesday against an opposition bill that sought to bar the delivery to the Strip of all aid, including electricity, water and fuel.
The legislation failed to pass, with 10 Knesset members in favor and 49 against. Coalition members told JNS that halting all aid would damage the Jewish state’s international standing and jeopardize the war effort.
Image: A truck carrying fuel enters a power plant in the central Gaza Strip, Aug. 27, 2019. Photo by Hassan Jedi/Flash90.
