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Israel, Palestinians reach temporary deal over outstanding electricity bills

Xinhua, April 6, 2016 Adjust font size:

Israel's state-owned electricity provider and Palestinian officials reached a temporary agreement over an outstanding debt, putting an end to recent power cuts in West Bank cities, the Israel Electric Corporation (IEC) said on Wednesday.

The Israeli company cut off electric currents on Tuesday to the West Bank city of Hebron as well as to the Bethlehem district on Monday, and in Jericho, the Jordan valley on Sunday, and more outages were planned for the upcoming two weeks.

The IEC said in a statement on Monday that the power shortages were part of a campaign amid an outstanding debt of approximately 460 million U.S. dollars in unpaid electricity bills.

On Wednesday, however, representatives of the IEC and the Palestinian Authority reached a temporary agreement that would halt the power disruptions, mediated by Arab Israeli lawmaker Aymen Odeh and with the blessing of Israeli Energy Minister Yuval Steinitz.

As part of the agreement, the Palestinian Authority agreed to immediately transfer 20 million shekels (just over five million U.S. dollars), in addition to its ongoing daily payments, according to a statement by the IEC.

At the same time, the sides will continue to meet and negotiate a deal for long-term solutions. However, if the Palestinians are to fail to reach a solution within two weeks, the IEC would be permitted to resume power reductions, the statement added.

"We did not want to carry out these difficult steps," chairman of the IEC Yiftah Ron-Tal said in the company's statement on Wednesday. "I am pleased that the Palestinians are willing to immediately transfer funds to cover a part of the debt and to reach a solution, once and for all," Ron-Tal said.

Israel occupied the West Bank, East Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip territories in the 1967 Mideast War. TEC provides most of the electricity to the West Bank and Gaza Strip, a total of approximately 120 megawatts. Israel sells the electricity to the Palestinian National Authority (PNA), who sells it to Palestinian distribution companies that supply it to households.

The PNA, which governs the Palestinian territories in the West Bank in accordance with the 1993 Oslo Accords, is financially strapped and largely depends on foreign aid to support itself.

The IEC had carried out power outages in the West Bank last year as well over growing debt, facing criticism that the act is a form of "collective punishment" for the Palestinians, who depend on Israel for their supply of electricity. Endit