Israeli NGO: blocking transfer of fuel to Gaza 'cruel, illegal, and immoral'

Israel’s decision to block the transfer of fuel to the occupied Gaza Strip was slammed as “cruel, illegal, and immoral” Tuesday by human rights NGO Gisha.

In an urgent letter to Israeli authorities, Gisha said the move “must be reversed immediately”.

Earlier Tuesday morning, Israel announced that it was halting the transfer of fuel used to operate the sole power plant in the Gaza Strip.

An Israeli defence ministry body (Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories, or COGAT) (COGAT) tweeted that fuel supply to the power plant in Gaza would be stopped “following the launching of incendiary balloons from Gaza towards Israel…until further notice”.

According to Gisha, “Israel’s decision to deliberately reduce the supply of a basic humanitarian commodity, knowingly harming the civilian population in Gaza, constitutes illegal collective punishment”.

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“As is widely known”, Gisha continued “Gaza suffers from an acute, chronic shortage of electricity, impacting power supply to homes, hospitals, factories, and basic civilian infrastructure”.

“There is no justification for the decision to stop fuel supply to Gaza’s power plant. Israel must reverse this wrongful and illegal measure immediately and renew transfer of fuel to the Strip”.