Due to the war I have been receiving many questions. Here is one that has been asked several times concerning the water and electricity situation in Gaza. 

When Gaza fell into Israeli hands during the War of 1967 after the Egyptians left the area, what was left was a collapsed infrastructure, a completely broken water pipe system, one old and often dysfunctional  electrical power plant, an antiquated, barely functioning electrical grid and a dilapidated sewer system. 

Due to ongoing bitter rivalry between political groups in Gaza, the ability to elect an effective central authority as a governing body, was impossible. In fact, no effective public utility to speak of existed in Gaza since the beginning of the 20th century. Unfortunately, other than humanitarian help, no serious international initiative to improve  the infrastructure has been offered to remedy the situation. 

This was the situation 65 years ago. Nothing much has changed since except that the population is now more than four times as much, from 400,000 Arabs living in Gaza in the late 60’s to 1.8 million presently cramming into the same small area.

After the 1967 war, the State of Israel realized it needed to supply Gaza with water and electricity while trying to rebuild the infrastructure using its own limited resources of water and electricity. To make things  even worse, the Israelis realized  that at least half of the water supplied to Gaza could not be handled by the antiquated water pipe system. A few desalination plants were desperately needed as well as a few new power plants to replace the one small dysfunctional electrical power plant  along with its dilapidated electrical grid.

Over the years, plans to improve the situation in Gaza were drawn by Israeli engineers with international support. These plans  were impossible to implement since terror organizations were active in Gaza against Israel. Any Israeli initiative to ease Gaza’s situation was flatly rejected.

Plans to help the situation  were also drawn specifically by the Israeli water and electrical authorities. These plans  were scratched as well due to constant terror activities from Gaza.

The UN organization, UNICEF however, did manage to build a small water desalination plant in Gaza  in order to ease the water shortage. However  the plant is too small. It is based on old technology and cannot solve the dire water situation in Gaza.

One of the well known plans to help the situation was put forward  by former Israeli prime minister Naftali Bennett and former foreign minister Yair Lapid. It evidently had great European support. It was never implemented due  to the refusal of Hamas to even consider it.

There were also Israeli proposals to build a few modern desalination plants as well as patching  the water pipe system using Israeli vast know- how and experience in the field. Plans  to build a few electrical power plants with foreign donations were also considered.

In 2008  Hamas authorities agreed to allow the building of a desalination plant and electrical power plants to alleviate the severe water  and electrical shortage. Building materials earmarked for these projects were sent along with engineering plans for the projects to be built with the help of Israeli engineers and foreign money.

However, Hamas had plans of its own. All the building material was used to build one of the most elaborate and sophisticated underground large tunnels. This became what is now known as Gaza’s underground city. The goal was to provide shelter to the dozens of thousands Hamas terrorists as well as a way to  kidnap Israelis. 

Both goals  were achieved. Many terror attacks  in the area  including  kidnapping Israeli citizens (and getting back hundreds of terrorist prisoners in Israeli jail in a prisoner exchange) were conducted using these tunnels.

When Israel realized that all building materials were used  to build  the underground  structure instead of helping the population, it was decided to immediately stop the transfer of all construction material to Gaza.

However, according to IDF reports, it has been discovered that Hamas  has managed to smuggle huge amounts of construction material through the Egyptian border and  through its extensive tunnel system. Hamas even expanded the underground elaborate tunnels system  to more than 200 miles. For years Hamas  has been successfully smuggling anything they needed for their terror activities through land and sea.

It also became apparent that a lot of materials have been smuggled through Israel by hiding them in double strength food bags like rice bags. Israel, having no other choice, started monitoring everything that is shipped to Gaza on a daily basis aboard dozens of large trucks including food and  other goods. 

Unlike what Arab propaganda wants everyone to believe, there are absolutely no restrictions on food, medicine, and all other basic needs. Everything  is simply being checked for any material that could be used, directly or indirectly, for terror, including  weapons and ammunition.

This is the hard lesson learned by Israel that when it comes to Gaza that less than total vigilance leads to terror disasters.  Israel is still obligated  to supply water  and electricity as much as it can to Gaza. This is not  a “control” issue but rather the kind of moral and legal obligation issued by the international community and  the UN  despite  the hatred  and the will to obliterate the state of Israel.

It is sad that on one hand  the world accuses Israel of “controlling”  Gaza by controlling  the water and electrical flow and by restricting  material going to Gaza and on the other hand demands that Israel provides Gaza with water and  electric power, food and other materials. It is sad that the world has ignored all the attempts by Israel to help rebuild Gaza infrastructure and instead has faced extreme hostility. 

It is a strange anomaly that Gazans want  to destroy Israel by completely killing all men (women  and girls should be taken for obvious purposes) despite the fact that Israel provides for the Gazans, as much as it can, water  and electricity and despite Israel's attempts over the years to help with plans which cannot be implemented. 

No other country  in the world ever came out  with a serious attempt to help the water and electrical infrastructure situation, not even the UN, with all its vast resources.

Any accusation from any international body over the years of Israel’s discriminatory restrictions in regards to helping  Gaza is a propaganda fallacy.  

Rabbi David 

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