Jerusalem – Israel warned on Saturday that it would cut the supply of water and electricity to the Gaza Strip if rival Palestinian movements Fatah and Hamas form a unity government.
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“The foreign ministry is examining the possibility of Israel pulling out of the Gaza Strip in terms of infrastructure,” Deputy foreign minister Danny Ayalon told the daily Yediot Aharonot website.
A unity government deal “would transform the Palestinian Authority into a terrorist authority and would put an end to any hope for a peace agreement” with Israel, said Ayalon, who is also a Knesset deputy from the nationalist Yisrael Beitenu party.
On Friday, Israeli ministers decided to maintain a freeze on the transfer of tens of millions of dollars in tax monies to the Palestinian Authority hours after Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas held top-level talks with Hamas chief Khaled Meshaal at which they announced a new era of “partnership.”
The transfer of funds, which make up a large percentage of the authority’s monthly budget, was frozen on November 1 as a punitive measure after the Palestinians won full membership of the UN cultural organisation.
“If the Palestinians have signed an agreement over a unity government, it would make a transfer of funds impossible,” a senior government official told AFP.
In January, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had already threatened to cut off water and power to Gaza, which has been controlled by Hamas since the Islamist group chased Fatah from the territory in 2008.
Israel, which unilaterally withdrew from Gaza and dismantled Jewish settlements in 2008, continues to supply the territory with water and 70 percent of its electrical power, the rest being supplied by neighbouring Egypt or local power plants.
Firstly, matzah min es minoh. Two murderous uneducated sewer rats, that became friends.
Second, if israel pulled out, then why are they supplying electric and water?? Our people can’t live there, but our utilities can???
If only Israel would finally do it! That would finally teach the Palestinians a lesson, don’t mess with Israel!
Good! And they can lower our rates for water and electricity, now that we will have more for Israel to use.
Wait! Khaled Meshaal is more “Yeshivish” than Mahmoud Abbas – he has a beard, and doesn’t wear a tie – maybe he should get a Yeshiva discount on utilities for Gaza…
I can’t believe the comments I’m seeing on here… wow.
Do you realize how many women & children would be hurt on account of their being NO running water or electricity in Gaza? How inhumane would it be to just CUT those services off… over politics?! What about human beings that live there?!
So you guys would ONLY care about feeding & providing water for your fellow Jews… but if all of the people in Gaza begin to go hungry, die of thirst or can’t keep warm at night…
OH WELL?!?!
It’s one thing to take the side of Israel in these conflicts & to stand beside her in all things… I respect all of you for your beliefs & for your hearts when it comes to your homeland.
But let’s just stop for two seconds & think about what is being suggested here!
There would be thousands of women & children who have nothing to do w\the situation being affected by these services being shut off in Gaza.
To me, this doesn’t seem like the Jewish thing to do. *shaking my head*
Makes me sad to think that things have come to this…
Remember, what we learned in Tanach about Shaul HaMelech, he had rachmanus in a situation he wasn’t supposed to. “Mocho Timcheh es zecher Amalek”, we must refrain from having rachmanus on our mortal enemies – it’s Hashems commandment