{"id":95653,"date":"2017-07-17T12:00:01","date_gmt":"2017-07-17T11:00:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/?p=95653"},"modified":"2017-07-17T11:11:35","modified_gmt":"2017-07-17T10:11:35","slug":"im-just-doing-my-job-cutting-power-to-gaza-hospitals","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/2017\/07\/im-just-doing-my-job-cutting-power-to-gaza-hospitals\/","title":{"rendered":"I\u2019m Just Doing My Job \u2013 Cutting Power to Gaza Hospitals"},"content":{"rendered":"

Yiftah Ron Tal, the Director of the Israel Electric Corporation, was previously head of the Israel Port Authority and a former commander of the IDF Ground Forces Command. In October 2006 he said that IDF Chief of Staff Dan Halutz should accept responsibility for malfunctions in the Israel-Hezbollah War and accept the consequences. Ron-Tal said on Israel Radio \u201cThose who directed this war must take responsibility. We did not win this war, and it is proper that those who directed it should take responsibility\u201d. This is not a position he takes today about his responsibility, as Corporation chief, for supplying electricity to Gaza. Information from <\/em>Wikipedia.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Israel Electric Chief on Cutting Power to Gaza Hospitals: \u2018It\u2019s Our Job\u2019<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

What the director of Israel Electric said when asked why he didn\u2019t stand up to the government and refuse to cut power to Gaza despite the humanitarian toll.<\/em><\/p>\n

By Nir Gontarz, Haaretz premium, opinion
\nJune 23, 2017<\/em><\/p>\n

Hello to chairman of the Electric Corporation Yiftah Ron Tal. \u00a0Nir Gontarz from Haaretz here.<\/em><\/p>\n

Who?<\/p>\n

Nir Gontarz. A journalist from Haaretz. Good morning.<\/em><\/p>\n

Good morning.<\/p>\n

How are you?<\/em><\/p>\n

Excellent.<\/p>\n

Great. We\u2019ve spoken before. A year and a half ago, I\u2019d say. I don\u2019t remember exactly. I want a minute to talk to you about the cut in power to the Gaza Strip.<\/em><\/p>\n

Yes.<\/p>\n

You are subject to the government\u2019s decisions, right?<\/em><\/p>\n

We operate in accordance with the decisions of the security cabinet.<\/p>\n

And how does it feel to cut back the power supply to people who are already miserable? Is there any feeling connected with it, or is it: The government ordered it \u2013 and that\u2019s that?<\/em><\/p>\n

It\u2019s accompanied by a great deal of feeling, and we are doing it in coordination, as much as possible, with the company the Gazan provider company. We are coordinating this thing with them so that they will be able to manage it. The crisis.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s a slightly subversive question: Did you consider not acceding to the government\u2019s demand?<\/em><\/p>\n

We cannot operate other than in accordance with business considerations. In this context, the security cabinet\u2019s decision reinforces business considerations. If the security cabinet\u2019s decision had been that we not operate according to business considerations, then we would have had to weigh those considerations.<\/p>\n

Amazing.<\/em><\/p>\n

In this case it\u2019s exactly the opposite. It\u2019s a decision that is consistent with our obligation.<\/p>\n

Listen, electricity in part means enjoying privileges like we have here in Israel \u2013 air conditioners, coffee machines. But electricity is also resuscitators and incubators for premature babies, and in operating rooms. And also for sewage facilities. Even without this, Gaza is on the brink of collapse. To turn this into a financial consideration is a bit problematic. No?<\/em><\/p>\n

Uhhh, it\u2019s definitely not simple, but, uh it\u2019s our job. We are doing it with as much sensitivity as we can.<\/p>\n

How in the world\u2026<\/em><\/p>\n

In any event, the electric power supplied by Israel isn\u2019t meant to be Gaza\u2019s only electric power. I don\u2019t know whether you know, but Gaza has a power station that\u2019s not operating. It\u2019s not operating, not because the Israel Electric Corporation is not operating it. It\u2019s not working because the Gazan order of priorities is such that they don\u2019t buy fuel. And if they do buy it, it\u2019s not for the station. There is also Egyptian electricity that is supposed to be supplied, via Rafah. Those are [power] lines that are supposed to provide more than 10 percent of Gaza\u2019s consumption. Those lines haven\u2019t been working for a few months already.<\/p>\n

From the Egyptians \u2013 given their struggle against the Muslim Brotherhood and its Hamas branch \u2013 I\u2019d expect nothing. I am an Israeli citizen, and my expectations are from the Israeli government, and for it not to exacerbate the humanitarian crisis in Gaza. Beyond that, Israel is still maintaining a type of siege of the Gaza Strip. A maritime, aerial and also ground siege. It\u2019s not a sovereign state that we\u2019re doing a favour for by giving them electricity.<\/em><\/p>\n

What\u2019s your name, remind me? Nir, right?<\/p>\n

Yes.<\/em><\/p>\n

I am not a politician. I am the director of an electric company. I am doing the best I can. We are doing it with the highest sensitivity.<\/p>\n

How do you cut off power to hospitals with sensitivity?<\/em><\/p>\n

I hope things will work out. That the electricity will be paid for and we will supply all we can. Even if we supply the entire amount possible, we can supply Gaza with slightly more than 50 percent<\/p>\n

I understand. But to cut even that because Abu Mazen [i.e., Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas] requested it because of his political needs? And let me ask you: If the security cabinet were to demand that you cut off the power supply to Ichilov Hospital [in Tel Aviv] \u2013 let\u2019s say the hospital had an unpaid debt to you \u2013 would you do it?<\/em>
\nUhh my friend Nir. I answered you both at length and openly.<\/p>\n

True.<\/em><\/p>\n

Please don\u2019t drag me into issues that are not under my authority and not part of my job. Over coffee, when we sit down for a cup of coffee, I will be able to talk to you about whatever you want. Not in a conversation that\u2019s being recorded. And not only is it being recorded \u2013 I assume that you forgot to inform me that you were recording it.<\/p>\n

I hear you laughing. That\u2019s nice.<\/em><\/p>\n

I\u2019m simply in the middle of something. The most basic thing for a journalist [to do] when he calls \u2013 certainly if it\u2019s an official, and he also has other matters to look after \u2013 is to ask him, \u201cSir, do you have a few free minutes?\u201d You didn\u2019t ask, and that has nothing to do with electricity but with relations between people. Even though I am not free now, I answered you. I answered you openly, because I value you highly. If you want to continue, I will be happy to conduct an interview with you through my spokesperson\u2019s unit.<\/p>\n

You didn\u2019t answer about cutting off power to Ichilov. Fine. I\u2019ll drop that. Last question: Why doesn\u2019t anyone at the highest levels of officialdom, including yours, stand up to the government and say to them: \u201cNo. There are red lines\u201d? Why doesn\u2019t Yiftah Ron Tal say to the government: \u201cI am not cutting electric power to Gaza. There are hospitals there. There are sewage pumps. People will die\u201d? That you didn\u2019t manage to do. Correct?<\/p>\n

My dear fellow, uh I am doing my best, and I am doing it pretty well. I think you should say a good word.<\/p>\n

I am saying a good word, about the way you responded to me. About cutting the power supply to Gaza \u2013 sorry, I don\u2019t have a single good word.<\/em><\/p>\n

Okay, then, good day.<\/p>\n

Good day.<\/em><\/p>\n

________________________________________<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Jews for Justice for Palestinians is a network of Jews who are British or live in Britain, practising and secular, Zionist and not. We oppose Israeli policies that undermine the livelihoods, human, civil and political rights of the Palestinian people. We support the right of Israelis to live in freedom and security within Israel\u2019s 1967 borders. We work to build world-wide Jewish opposition to the Israeli Occupation, with like-minded groups around the world and are a founding member of <\/em>European Jews for a Just Peace<\/em>, a federation of Jewish groups in ten European countries.<\/em><\/p>\n

Go to Original \u2013 jfjfp.com<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

What the director of Israel Electric said when asked why he didn\u2019t stand up to the government and refuse to cut power to Gaza despite the humanitarian toll.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[54],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-95653","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-palestine-israel-gaza-genocide"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/95653","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=95653"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/95653\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=95653"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=95653"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=95653"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}