Al Mezan Condemns Ongoing Power Crisis and Calls for a Solution from Palestinian Governments

The electricity cuts in the Gaza Strip are continuing to worsen, now reaching 30% of supply, compared with the previous 50% supply daily, throughout the Gaza Strip.  In the five districts of Gaza, electricity is connected for four to six hours to each area in rotation, and then cut for 12 hours. The district of Rafah receives the least amount of electricity in the Gaza Strip.

The electricity cuts exacerbate the shortages in household water supply throughout Gaza as
the municipalities pump water to homes at specific times, which is not coordinated with the times of electricity supply. As a result, water does not reach houses sometimes for days. This results in the exacerbation of the already desperate living conditions.

During the past two days, thousands of people protested against the continued diminishment of electricity supplies, especially in the southern-Gaza districts of Rafah and Khan Younis. Security forces at the scene attempted to prevent journalists from covering the protest and publishing the information gathered.

During the past two days, long electricity cuts in Gaza have been renewed, coinciding with a heat wave that is striking the Gaza Strip.  Residents, particularly older, sick and disabled people, of the hundreds of high-rise buildings in Gaza are facing difficulty accessing their homes. The financial impact of the electricity cuts severely burdens residents who are pushed to buy expensive generators and run them for long periods of time.

Access to power supply in Gaza is a paid service. Employees of the Palestinian government have salaries deducted by fixed amounts to cover the electricity bill. The government also prevents the purchasing of electricity when previous bills have not been settled. This raises serious questions as to the reasons behind the government’s inability to pay the bill of industrial fuel and electricity imported from Israel to the Gaza Strip.

Al Mezan Center for Human Rights (Al Mezan) condemns the continuing electricity cuts and emphasizes that the reason behind the electricity crisis is the absence of Palestinian political unity- regardless of the existence of the Palestinian unity government.

Al Mezan asserts that peaceful protest against the electricity crisis, to exert pressure on decision makers to improve electricity service or other services, is granted under the law so long as it does not harm public properties. Al Mezan asserts that peaceful assembly is a form of expressing opinion that is granted under international human rights law and the amended Palestinian Basic Law of 2005. Article 25 (5) of the amended Palestinian Basic Law states that every Palestinian – individual and group – maintains the right to participate in political life, including by holding meetings without the attendance of police, and holding public meetings and assemblies.

Palestinian law is in harmony with the international principles of human rights. Article 2 of the Palestinian Public Meeting Law No 12 of 1998 stipulates “citizens have the right to conduct public meetings, seminars and demonstrations freely. It is prohibited to infringe on this freedom or limit it except for the limitations provided for by this law”. (Unofficial translation of the article).

Al Mezan holds the government and the concerned authorities – the Palestinian Energy Authority and Gaza Electricity Distribution Company – responsible for the crisis. Al Mezan calls on the Palestinian government to open serious investigation into the continuing electricity cuts, particularly as vast residential areas and industrial and commercial infrastructure that were destroyed by Israeli forces during the full-scale military bombardment of 2014 no longer require electricity usage.  More energy should be available for distribution as a result.

Al Mezan urges the two Palestinian governments to put the Palestinian interests at the top of their priorities and to keep basic services out of the current political disagreement. Al Mezan calls on the government, the concerned authorities, and political parties to take serious and effective steps to create a solution to the electricity crisis, which has continued year after a year.

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