Egypt plans to provide all of Gaza's electricity

[bemildred]

Egypt is working on a plan with the Palestinians to supply all the besieged Gaza Strip's electricity needs and wean it off its reliance on Israel for power, an Egyptian energy official said Thursday.

Earlier this month, Israel began reducing its supply of electricity to the Hamas-ruled coastal strip after the High Court of Justice ruled that doing so would not cause a humanitarian crisis. Israel's plan includes gradually reducing the electricity supply by small increments, in efforts to pressure the Hamas government to prevent Qassam rocket fire from the Strip into southern Israel. So far, Israel has supplied most of the electricity utilized in Gaza.

Under the plan, Egypt - which already supplies a small part of Gaza's electricity - would increase the number of power lines linking it to Gaza and provide Palestinians with some 250 megawatts, said Izzat Ibrahim, a senior official of Sinai's National Electricity Power Company. "This capacity is considered as an alternative power for that Israel used to supply," Ibrahim said.

He said Egypt's Electricity Ministry is preparing a study with President Mahmoud Abbas' Palestinian Authority on financing the project and providing equipment to Gaza. The project would take at least six months to implement, he said, though he could not say when it would start.

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/959249.html

[Vegasaurus]

1. Great. Let's hope this happens ASAP. nt