Israel Gives Palestinian Authority Control Over Three West Bank Power Stations

AFTER years of delays, Israel transferred control over three power substations to the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank over the past month, the country’s military liaison to the Palestinians announced on Tuesday.

Ramallah praised the new substations as a step towards solving the West Bank’s long-running electricity crisis. Almost totally dependent on Israel for electricity and possessing only a feeble grid, rolling blackouts are a familiar feature of life in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.

All three substations were built by the state-owned Israel Electric Corporation (IEC) and financed by the European Investment Bank. They join another substation in Jenin, which was officially transferred with great fanfare to PA control in 2017.

According to a 2017 World Bank report, Palestinians receive around 99 percent of their power from the IEC. Jordan also provides a small amount of electricity in areas close to its border with the West Bank.