The Palestinian Center for Human Rights (PCHR) on Wednesday issued a press release saying it is “strongly concerned over an unprecedented deterioration of the electricity crisis in the Gaza Strip and warns of the disastrous consequences of the already deteriorating humanitarian situation.”
The power outages in Gaza have reached more than 20 hours a day in the past three months, and “people’s homes and workplaces were turned into hell, especially under the very high temperature and humidity,” says PCHR, noting the crisis has resulted in “accelerated aggravation of all basic services, mainly the health services and environmental health services, including the water and sewage network.”
The human rights group says it has become clear that “the Palestinian parties to the political conflict have given up on the civilians’ basic rights for political gains. It is obvious that the unfair measures taken by the PA to hinder any solutions of the electricity crisis aim at suffocating the Gaza Strip population.”
These war-crime level threats have been leveled by Dr. Mohammed Eshtaya, Member of Fatah Central Committee. He said on the TV show “Political Status” on PA satellite channel, on Sunday, July 9: “There are indications that the PA measures would blow up the situation in Gaza. Therefore, Egypt tries to ease the situation. The point is that we have two demands: first, the measures should not be eased from one side; second, whatsoever measure taken by Egypt should be done in coordination with the Palestinian leadership.”
Finally, after openly attacking the PA for causing this humanitarian crisis, PCHR claims that Israel is still the occupier of the Gaza Strip (no way to tell how they reached this conclusion, as the Strip has been evacuated of all its Jews back in 2005), and “calls upon the Israeli authorities, in its capacity as an occupying power according to the international humanitarian law, to fulfill its legal obligations towards the Gaza Strip civilians and to guarantee civilians’ access tp the basic services, including fuel supplies needed for operating the Gaza power plant.”
In other words, since Mahmoud Abbas is freezing payments to Egypt and Israel for fuel and electric supply, Israel should make up the difference out of its own pocket.
For the record, International humanitarian law (IHL) regulates the conduct of war. It is that branch of international law which seeks to limit the effects of armed conflict by protecting persons who are not participating in hostilities, and by restricting and regulating the means and methods of warfare available to combatants.
IHL is a set of rules, established by treaty or custom, that seeks to protect persons and property that may be affected by armed conflict and limits the rights of parties to a conflict to use methods and means of warfare of their choice. It defines the conduct and responsibilities of belligerent nations, neutral nations, and individuals engaged in warfare, in relation to each other and to protected persons, usually meaning non-combatants. It is designed to balance humanitarian concerns and military necessity, and subjects warfare to the rule of law by limiting its destructive effect and mitigating human suffering.
Nowhere does it say that one side in a belligerent conflict is obliged to supply the other side with free electricity. It also doesn’t suggest that imposing a naval blockade that curbs a declared enemy’s ability to import weapons and ammunition constitutes an occupation.