Palestinians started a protest on social media under the title "Fourth Generator" following the ongoing electricity crisis in the Gaza Strip for more than 17 years since Hamas came to power. The campaign comes against the background of the severe heat wave as the number of hours the Gaza Strip is connected to electricity has dropped to only four, compared to between six to eight hours in preceding years.
Residents of the Gaza Strip have expressed outrage at the ongoing power outages, even though the Gaza Electric Company has promised increased electricity production by a fourth generator that should operate in Gaza during the summer. The electricity company in Gaza also said that there are families who steal electricity using fictitious accounts, therefore a home electricity meter must be installed in every house in Gaza and electricity must be paid in advance.
#Gaza ||
— Mahfuzul Chowdhury🇵🇸 (@Mahfuzul2002) July 15, 2023
Campaign on social media platforms entiled. #Gaza _ without _ electricity #Gaza_dark
To demand an improvement in the difficult electricity sotuation in #Gaza especially during the height of summer. #غزة_بلا_كهرباء #غزة_مظلمة #غزة pic.twitter.com/OYhugXY2kl
Despite Hamas and the Palestinian Authority receiving aid for such things as power supply, and Israel providing much of the power for the Palestinian areas, both the Palestinian Authority in Judea and Samaria and Hamas in Gaza have appropriated the funds elsewhere. From building a military infrastructure such as the 'Terror Tunnels' to ensuring the leadership is well compensated, the money earmarked for utilities and services such as sewage and water treatment has not been used for those purposes.
Social activists in the Gaza Strip pushed back on Hamas' allegations, saying that this was a lie intended to justify collecting the payment from them. According to them, the Palestinian Authority pays its share for the electricity that comes from Israel and the Egyptian electricity that comes as part of the Qatari reconstruction funds, therefore there is no justification to pay for the electricity that the Hamas government receives for free.
Palestinians spent their weekend on the shore of the besieged #Gaza Strip to escape unbearable heatwaves and chronic electricity cuts. pic.twitter.com/Oax6UanDoT
— Al-Jarmaq News (@Aljarmaqnetnews) July 15, 2023
The activists also accuse the Hamas government of connecting full electricity only to close associates and members of the organization, while the rest of the residents, about 60% of whom live below the poverty line, have limited electricity. 2.23 million residents live in the Gaza Strip, and more than 70% of them are unemployed.
This protest and the ongoing energy crisis in Gaza due to poor governance by Hamas comes just a few months after the Egyptian government planned on helping Hamas with electricity in the Gaza Strip. After a meeting between the Hamas leadership and Egyptian officials, the following statement was released: "Among the issues in the talks between Cairo and Hamas and the Islamic Jihad is the supply of electricity from Egypt to the Gaza Strip, through a large project, through which Egypt will provide aid with 100 megawatts, and it will be increased later." After the round of talks with the terrorist organizations, Egypt planned on holding a meeting with the Palestinian Prime Minister, to begin a series of technical meetings on the development of the network and lines between Rafah and Al-Arish.
Gaza | “Turn on the 4th Engine Campaign”
— Younis | يونس (@ytirawi) July 16, 2023
Last night, activists in Gaza launched an online campaign to tweet under hashtag of the “4th Engine” in protest of the continuing electricity crisis.
Today, an urgent meeting by Gaza-based factions will be held
What’s the story? ->> pic.twitter.com/X0TM3AypB3
According to the report, the technical teams associated with the electricity network in Gaza will soon begin developing networks and power lines in the Rafah area. "This essential project will develop continuously, to provide large amounts of electrical energy to the Gaza Strip, which may later reach even 300 megawatts.”
