Israel reduces power to Palestinian city over debt

Jerusalem: Israel's state-run electricity company on Thursday reduced the power supply to Jericho over a debt of $450 million, causing blackouts in the Palestinian city in the occupied West Bank, officials said.

Jericho governor Majed al-Fityani said up to 30,000 people were without power out of a total population of around 50,000 in the city and surrounding area.

Fityani said his office was operating with a generator and that the cut came without prior notice.

Power to the city was reduced to a third of its capacity, according to Hisham Omari, director of the private Palestinian Jerusalem District Electricity Company.

An Israeli energy industry official said the measure came after the Palestinian Authority and Omari's JDECO failed to pay longstanding dues, currently amounting to more than 1.7 billion shekels ($450 million/397 million euros).

"We've informed all the relevant parties, and after endless attempts to reach arrangements, we've decided to act to reduce the debt," said the official, speaking on condition of anonymity and adding that the Jericho move was "open-ended".

Omari called it "collective punishment against the Palestinian people" which would disrupt daily lives and stop factories from operating in the area.

He said that ongoing talks with the IEC and PA have so far not resolved the debt problem.

Omari said he sent a letter to the Palestinian prime minister's office to "immediately intervene to stop this measure".

The Palestinian Authority has struggled financially and is largely dependent on foreign aid. It also relies heavily on Israel for electricity supplies.

The Palestinian economy has faltered in part due to Israeli restrictions in much of the West Bank.

In January 2015, the IEC cut power to Palestinian cities for a number of hours every day over a similar debt.

It ceased doing so the following month however, despite the standing debt.

The Israeli finance ministry and prime minister's office, which would normally be involved in any decision to reduce the electricity to the Palestinians, did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Tensions are running high after six months of violence which has left 200 Palestinians and 28 Israelis dead.

Most of the Palestinians killed were carrying out knife, gun or car-ramming attacks, while Israeli forces have been accused of using excessive force in some cases, charges which they have firmly denied.