Israel Matzav

Gaza declared an 'enemy entity'

Two years and hundreds of Kassams after Israel expelled Gaza's Jewish population, the 'security cabinet' voted today to declare Gaza an 'enemy entity'. The move is ostensibly designed to 'enable' the government to cut off electricity, water and fuel to the Strip. The security cabinet decided to gradually cut off electricity and to reduce fuel supplies to a level that would only permit operating hospital generators - assuming that's what the 'Palestinians' choose to do with the fuel. In addition, Gaza crossings will only be opened in order to allow in essential food and medical supplies to the Strip.

The sanctions will be imposed on the Gaza Strip in stages, should the rocket fire continue.

In the first stage, Israel will respond to rocket fire by disrupting the supply of electricity to the Gaza Strip.

The disruption of the fuel supply will be delayed until the second stage, as the decision is still dependant on a legal examination of the contracts between the National Infrastructure Ministry and the Palestinians.

The cabinet made the decision to declare Gaza an "enemy entity" following a legal examination by the Foreign Ministry regarding how to define the Strip in order to allow Israel to impose sanctions under international law.

The foreign and defense ministries presented a list of proposed actions, focused on impeding the supply of electricity, saying electricity is needed to manufacture Qassam rockets.

The ministers were also presented with a formal legal opinion, according to which the disruption in electricity must be limited, as it constitutes collective punishment and is therefore a violation of international law.

Meanwhile, Israel Radio reported that deposed Palestinian prime minister Ismail Haniyeh of Hamas met early Wednesday with Islamic Jihad leaders, in an attempt to convince them to halt the rocket fire.

Isn't it amazing what the threat of sanctions will do?

According to statistics I heard this morning during an Israel Radio with Giora Eiland, Israel currently supplies more than two thirds of the electricity (160 megawatts out of 227) and all of the water to the Gaza Strip. The 'Palestinians' have not paid for electricity or water (he did not discuss fuel) in 'years' and Israel has been setting off the value of electricity and water consumed against the 'tax receipts' it is supposed to transfer to the 'Palestinian Authority.' That kind of makes you wonder whether the money we have transferred to the 'Palestinians' as 'tax receipts' exceeds the amount of the 'tax receipts' less the cost of electricity and water that were provided to them. I would bet that it does.

Eiland said that Israel must cut off utilities to Gaza if only so that someone else in the world aside from Israelis (and he could have said "residents of Sderot and other communities that border Gaza" and he would have been more accurate) will care enough to pressure the 'Palestinians' to stop shooting rockets at Israel. He said that the continued supply of utilities cannot be justified on an economic basis and that even if it constitutes collective punishment, Israel has no other choice and no other way to get the world to take notice and act on what's going on near Gaza.

I know that the descriptive term 'realist' with respect to foreign policy has been tainted by its use in the United States, but Eiland has realistic views on Israeli foreign policy in a positive sense.

I still wouldn't hold my breath expecting the Olmert-Barak-Livni government to actually impose any of these sanctions. That would take a level of courage this government lacks.

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 1:03 PM