Israel to reduce electricity supplied to Gaza at Abbas' request

JERUSALEM (JTA)—Israel’s security cabinet agreed to reduce the amount of electricity Israel supplies to the Gaza Strip at the request of Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas.

Abbas said he would reduce by 40 percent how much money the P.A. pays Israel to supply the electricity, with a concurrent reduction in the amount of electricity delivered, Haaretz reported. He reportedly made the decision in order to put pressure on Hamas in Gaza.

At the security cabinet meeting on Sunday, Israeli military officials described a worsening economic and humanitarian situation in Gaza, and said military commanders believe that further reductions in the electricity supply to Gaza are likely to hasten an escalation in violence, Haaretz reported, citing an unnamed Israeli official familiar with the issue who was present at the meeting.

The army officials at the meeting did not advise any leniency for Hamas, the source told Haaretz.