IDF confirms i24NEWS report: Electricity to be transfered to Gaza for desalination
COGAT says the power line will provide electricity only to the UNICEF-run desalination plant in Khan Younis, preventing terrorists from rerouting power
The Israel Defense Forces confirmed on Tuesday that it will transfer electricity to the Gaza Strip, which was first reported by i24NEWS head of Arabic desk Assaf Gibor.
Speaking to Miri Michaeli on the "Central Edition" broadcast on Monday, Gibor reported that the electricity is meant for a desalination plant to prevent a humanitarian disaster in the Palestinian enclave, which could also affect Israel.
The Gaza Electricity Company is preparing to operate a water facility west of Deir al-Balakh, with the cables spread on Salah al-Din Street. The aim is to prevent pollution and the outbreak of diseases in Gaza, which risks spreading into Israeli territory nearby.
Israeli officials have slammed the move, claiming the power to Gaza could be routed to Hamas and other organizations for terrorist purposes. Aid trucks to to Gaza through the Kerem Shalom crossing have been hijacked by armed Hamas members.
The Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) said the "action will be carried out specifically in a humanitarian way to operate the water desalination plant in Gaza."
The power will increase water production from 5,000 cubic meters a day to 20,000 cubic meters.
The move, which was approved by the state, "has not yet been implemented," COGAT said.
Yisrael Beiteinu leader Avigdor Liberman blasted the decision by the "government of folly."
"After the release of the senior terrorist, the 'Dr. Mengele' director of Shifa Hospital, the government continues in the same direction. The infrastructure works in Gaza ahead of connection to Israeli electricity is an even greater folly," he said.
"The decision that must be made today is a complete disconnection between Israel and the Gaza Strip. No electricity, no water, no fuel, no goods, a complete cut-off."
COGAT has said that the line will be connected directly to the UNICEF-managed water desalination plant in Khan Yunis, southern Gaza.
Liberman's sentiment was echoed by Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who said: "We've completely lost our minds. We are restoring Gaza with our own hands, before disarmament, and mainly the hospitals, which are the centers of terrorism. Mr. Prime Minister, stop this nonsense. This time, it will not be possible to say that we did not know, like with the release of the terrorist commander at Shifa yesterday."