UN Mideast Envoy: Electricity Cuts Endanger Lives in Gaza

Local Editor

The UN's Mideast envoy warned on Friday that Palestinians in the Gaza Strip will face a "humanitarian crisis" if their already meager electricity supply is cut further as a result of political infighting.

Speaking from al-Quds [Jerusalem], Nickolay Mladenov, the UN special coordinator for the region told the UN Security Council that "all have obligations for the welfare of Gaza's residents."

The Palestinian Authority has been saying for weeks that it would slash its payments to the "Israeli" entity for Gaza'selectricity, and the entity announced Thursday that it would reduce the power supply, which already is down to about four hours a day. No date was set.

"The UN has warned that without addressing the structural problems of Gaza's electricity supply we would face a humanitarian crisis," Mladenov said.

"How long do you think they can survive if this is further reduced to two hours of electricity per day?" he added. "Who will pay the price of the ensuing violence and escalation?"

Electricity-driven drinking water is available for a few hours every two to four days, the envoy said. Hospitals are barely functioning without power, postponing surgeries and reducing cleaning and sterilization. And for lack of irrigation, food prices are soaring.

In addition, partly operational treatment plants channel the equivalent of 40 Olympic-size swimming pools of raw sewage into the Mediterranean every day.

Mladenov said the UN is offering emergency help to the 2 million Gaza residents with fuel for generators, water, medical needs and sanitation, but such reserves will run out in weeks.

"I am today warning the Security Council that unless urgent measures are taken to de-escalate, the crisis risks spiraling out of control with devastating consequences for Palestinians and 'Israelis' alike," the envoy said.

The Gaza Strip had been under "Israeli" blockade for the past decade.

"In Gaza we are walking into another crisis with our eyes wide open," Mladenov said Friday.

palestine | israel | gaza strip

Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team