Monday, January 21, 2008
Hamas shut off the power in the Gaza Strip yesterday and then sent the kiddies out into the street with candles for a photo-op pity party. In fact, most of Gaza's electricity comes from Israel, which, against all reason, has not cut down a single megawatt, nor have they cut industrial diesel supplies. Hamas has created its own crisis, and the MSM plays right along. Start with Honest Reporting: Lights On, Nobody Home
The media leaves the false impression that Israel has completely cut Gaza's electricity...
...Despite ongoing Qassam attacks from the territory, Israel has not switched off the electricity. In fact, Hamas itself shut down Gaza's only power station after inviting the media to watch it do so...
...While Gazans are undoubtedly suffering, the dark picture painted by the mainstream media is different from the reality. As the Israel's Foreign Ministry notes, the supply of electricity to Gaza from the Israel and the Egyptian power grids (124 Megawatts and 17 Megawatts respectively) has continued uninterrupted. These 141 Megawatts of power represents about three quarters of Gaza's electricity needs...
CAMERA has an important report that looks at the claims in articles by Ibrahim Barzak and Sarah El Deeb: AP Blackout on the Facts:
..."Palestinians in Gaza will be forced to live without electricity eight hours a day, beginning Sunday, because Israel has sharply reduced fuel supplies to the territory’s only electric plant, the head of Gaza’s energy authority said," began the Barzak article.
Likewise, his colleague El Deeb wrote: "Gaza electricity cuts caused by Israel’s reduction in fuel supplies mean an especially hard winter for impoverished Palestinians, Gaza’s top energy official warned, and human rights groups asked Israel’s Supreme Court to stop the cutbacks."
In contrast, an Israeli decision less than a week later to restore fuel supplies to its earlier levels was met by an AP news blackout. In a news brief Jan. 11, Ha’aretz reported:
Defense Minister Ehud Barak has decided to cancel planned cuts in the supply of industrial-use diesel fuel to the Gaza Strip, and bring the supply back up from 1.75 million liters per week to 2.2 million liters per week, according to a statement given to the High Court of Justice by the state prosecution. The industrial-use diesel fuel is used to Gaza’s power plant [sic]. The High Court met Thursday to debate a petition filed by several human rights organizations against the cuts in Israeli-supplied fuel and electricity to the Gaza Strip, in response to the ongoing Qassam rocket fire. Israel decided a few days ago to cancel planned cuts in the supply of diesel intended for use in cars. The court will hold a hearing next month on the electricity cuts.
The AP did not report on this development, despite their reporters’ intensive coverage on Gaza’s power shortages just a few days earlier. Moreover, the correspondents’ original articles were riddled with factual errors and falsehoods...
Here's from the MFA statement:
The supply of electricity to Gaza from the Israel and the Egyptian power grids (124 Megawatts and 17 Megawatts respectively) has continued uninterrupted. These 141 Megawatts of power represents about three quarters of Gaza's electricity needs.
While the fuel supply from Israel into Gaza has indeed been reduced, due to the Hamas rocket attacks, the diversion of this fuel from domestic power generators to other uses is wholly a Hamas decision - apparently taken due to media and propaganda considerations.
Noteworthy is the fact that while the Gaza population remains in the dark, the fuel generating power to the Hamas rocket manufacturing industry continues to flow unabated.
The Hamas claim of humanitarian crisis in Gaza is also greatly exaggerated. There is no shortage of basic foodstuffs, and Gaza patients who need treatment in Israeli hospitals continue to travel into Israel for care.
There's also a short video report, here.
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