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<h1 class="title">URGENT | Gaza Power Plant Forced off affecting lives
of 1.7 Million People</h1>
<p class="post-meta"> <img
src="cid:part1.06090602.08030801@freedomarchives.org" alt="">November
8, 2013<br>
<b><small><small><a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://occupiedpalestine.wordpress.com/2013/11/08/urgent-gaza-power-plant-forced-off-affecting-lives-of-1-7-million-people/">http://occupiedpalestine.wordpress.com/2013/11/08/urgent-gaza-power-plant-forced-off-affecting-lives-of-1-7-million-people/</a></small></small></b>
<span class="author vcard"></span><span class="comments"></span> </p>
<p><a href="http://www.imemc.org/article/66373" target="_blank"><strong> Friday
November 08, 2013 01:57 by Palestinian Center for Human Rights – PCHR |
IMEMC</strong></a><br>
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<p>Humanitarian Conditions of Approximately 1.7 million Palestinians in
the Gaza Strip Deteriorate</p>
<blockquote>
<p><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><strong>The Palestinian Centre
for Human Rights (PCHR) expresses deep concern over the deterioration
of humanitarian conditions of the civilian population due to the
aggravation of the electricity crisis in the Gaza Strip.</strong></span></p>
</blockquote>
<p>On Friday morning, 01 November 2013, the operation of the Gaza power
plant was totally stopped due to the lack of fuel required for its
operation.</p>
<p>PCHR is deeply concerned that the current crisis may impact the
access of 1.7 million Palestinians to vital services, including the
supply of drinking water, and that this crisis may result in the
suspension of work in some vital sectors, such as health, sanitation
and education.</p>
<p>According to PCHR’s follow-up of the chronic power crisis in the
Gaza Strip, the Palestinian Energy Authority in Gaza announced that the
operation of the Gaza Power plant was totally stopped on Friday
morning, 01 November 2012.</p>
<p>The Energy Authority claimed that its counterpart in Ramallah
stopped the fuel supplies required to operate the power plant and its
requested taxes on the price of fuel.</p>
<p>However, the Energy Authority in Gaza announced its inability to pay
taxes on the price of the industrial fuel.</p>
<p>On the other hand, the Energy Authority in Ramallah refused to
provide any new fuel supplies required for operating the power plant
resulting in the total lack of fuel and the shutdown of the plant.</p>
<p>The shutdown of the Gaza plant power has left serious consequences
on the humanitarian conditions of the Gaza Strip’s population due to
the deficit in daily needs of power in Gaza.</p>
<p>The Electricity Distribution Company (GEDCO) in Gaza was forced to
increase the hours of power outages on houses and vital facilities from
8 to 12 hours daily.</p>
<p>Thus, the schedule, which is applied, based on which power will be
distributed for six hours and then cut off for 12 hours resulting in
further deterioration in humanitarian conditions of the Gaza Strip’s
population.</p>
<p>It should be mentioned that the power plant was providing around 65
megawatts during the years of its reparation and rehabilitation after
being targeted and destroyed by Israeli forces in June 2006.</p>
<p>The power plant had worked since June 2012 to produce around 100
megawatts.</p>
<p>The Gaza Energy Authority stated that the electricity is provided to
the Gaza Strip as follows: 120 megawatts from Israel and 27 megawatts
supplied by Egypt.</p>
<p>The Gaza power plant has been suffering from a significant decrease
in fuel supplies required for its operation coming from Egypt through
tunnels under the Egypt-Gaza border, as the supplies have almost
completely stopped for around 2 months.</p>
<p>As a result, the Energy Authority in Gaza purchased fuel from Israel
through its counterpart in Ramallah. At that time, the Palestinian
Authority (PA) in Ramallah exempted fuel purchases from taxes.</p>
<p>However, the Energy Authority in Ramallah demanded its counterpart
in Gaza to pay the taxes on the fuel supplies due to the PA’s current
financial crisis.</p>
<p>The Energy Authority in Gaza refused to pay those taxes claiming
that it cannot afford paying them.</p>
<p>PCHR has been following the power crisis consequences in the Gaza
strip since the power plant stopped operating after Israeli forces
targeted and destroyed it in June 2006 resulting in catastrophic
impacts on the power supplies in the Gaza Strip.</p>
<p>PCHR has been also following the impacts of the ongoing Palestinian
political split, whose two parties failed to find solutions that take
into account the best interests of Palestinian civilians in Gaza and
stop the deterioration of humanitarian conditions and provide of their
electrical power needs and fuel required to operate the Gaza plant
power.</p>
<p>PCHR is deeply concerned over further deterioration of civilians’
humanitarian conditions as the power crisis has affected all civilians’
daily life needs and violated their right to access to basic and
necessary services, including access to health facilities and to
treatment, access to educational institutions, including schools and
universities, and access to water services, including drinking water in
homes and all other vital services.</p>
<p><strong>Through continuous follow-up of the effects of the
aggravation of the power crisis, PCHR has observed serious
deterioration of the humanitarian situation from which the residents of
Gaza are suffering:</strong></p>
<p>• About 1, 7 million inhabitants of the Gaza Strip are facing
deficiencies in all walks of their daily life, which have affected
their basic needs, including health services, access to water,
environmental health services and ability to meet the educational needs
of school and university students.</p>
<p>• The deterioration of health conditions in the health facilities of
the Gaza Strip due to inability to compensate the shortage of
electricity for long hours on one hand, and their inability to provide
fuel needed to run the alternative generators in these facilities on
the other hand, in addition to breakdown of many machines and medical
equipment at hospitals and health facilities of the Gaza Strip.</p>
<p>• Hundreds of patients in the hospitals of the Gaza Strip face
serious health risks as the medical equipment are not run regularly,
especially in the intensive care units and other medical units like
heart and kidney units.</p>
<p>• Local bodies, including municipalities and village councils, are
unable to provide alternative fuel to ensure the workflow of their
vital facilities serving the population of the Gaza Strip, including
water and sanitation facilities. Citizens’ complaints started to
resound because of their inability to get water in their houses,
especially in high buildings.</p>
<p>• Different bakeries in the Gaza Strip said that they partially
stopped working due to the long hours of power outage and the shortage
of the fuel needed to run the machines. One can notice overcrowding for
long hours in front of bakeries in order to get the basic needs.</p>
<p>• Educational facilities in universities and educational
institutions are suffering serious disorder, which led to the
inactivity of many educational laboratories and the postponement of
some educational assignments due to electricity shortage and lack of
alternative power sources.</p>
<p>The aggravation of electricity crisis has coincided with the
mid-term exams that started about a week ago in the schools and
universities of the Gaza Strip. The majority of governmental schools is
still without electricity and cannot provide the students with
alternatives.</p>
<p>• Hundreds of institutions and associations in the Gaza Strip had to
postpone their activities and programs due to the electricity shortage
all day and their inability to provide alternative power sources to run
their machines and equipment.</p>
<p>• The suffering of the population of the Gaza Strip has seriously
aggravated, especially those living in high buildings and who depend on
elevators in the ascending and descending from their apartments. Dozens
of residents, including elderly people and patients with chronic
diseases have been greatly affected.</p>
<p><strong>PCHR is following the power crisis in the Gaza Strip with
grave concern and:</strong></p>
<p>1. Calls on all concerned parties, including the Palestinian
government in Ramallah, the Palestinian government in Gaza and the
Electricity Distribution Company in Gaza to make efforts to provide the
fuel needed to run the power plant and ensure its workflow with no
cessation;</p>
<p>2. Warns of the serious consequences of the stoppage of the power
plant on all vital sectors, including the basic services for about 1, 7
million Palestinians living in the Gaza Strip, like drinking water
supplies, disruption of health facilities, including hospitals and
medical centers, in addition to the sewage plants and educational
sectors.</p>
<p>3. Calls on the international community to pressurize Israel, the
occupying power according to international humanitarian law, to lift
the illegal closure imposed on the Gaza Strip since June 2007, to
fulfill their legal commitments towards the civilian population of the
Gaza Strip and to ensure access to all the medicines, food, and basic
services, including fuel supplies needed to run the Gaza Power Plant.</p>
<p><strong>Public Document</strong></p>
<p>Follow PCHR on Facebook and Twitter<br>
For more information please call PCHR office in Gaza , Gaza Strip, on
+972 8 2824776 – 2825893<br>
PCHR, 29 Omer El Mukhtar St., El Remal, PO Box 1328 Gaza, Gaza Strip.
E-mail: <a class="moz-txt-link-abbreviated" href="mailto:pchr@pchrgaza.org">pchr@pchrgaza.org</a>, Webpage</p>
<div><strong>Related Link(s): <a title="http://www.pchrgaza.org"
href="http://www.pchrgaza.org">http://www.pchrgaza.org</a></strong></div>
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