Israel threatens to cut off electricity for Palestinians
Director of the Israel Electric Corporation Tal Ron said on Tuesday morning that if the Palestinians will not pay, his company will be forced to cut off the electricity in the areas controlled by the Palestinian Authority.
Recently, the Palestinians paid 600 million shekels in electricity debts. However, their debt stands at over a billion shekels.
At the 14th Besheva newspaper Jerusalem Conference, Ron Tal said: “The Palestinian debt to the Electric Corporation is huge, over a billion shekels. It’s true that they have paid 600 million recently and it’s true that we are at advanced stages of negotiations to ensure that there won’t be more debt, but this is still an intolerable and inconceivable situation.”
“An entire population is enjoying the benefits of electricity without paying for it. If we were talking about Israeli citizens, we would have cut off the electricity [...] If negotiations don’t succeed, we will cut off their electricity,” he emphasized.
Ron Tal also said that the Corporation is establishing a fund headed by a retired judge which will be responsible for determining which Israeli citizens with a debt to the Corporation will not have their electricity cut despite debts. “We need to find a new way to settle this matter,” he asserted. “There are a lot [of Israelis] who, unfortunately, cannot pay their electricity bills.”
Source: israelnationalnews.com