Palestinians fail to pay electricity bills

Israel Electric Corp. has threatened to impose intermittent power cuts in the West Bank because of unpaid bills, officials said. Hisham Omari of the Jerusalem District Electricity Co. told The Jerusalem Post he received a letter from the IEC Tuesday stating JDECO owes NIS 423 million ($107.2 million). The Israeli company warned failure to pay the debt will lead to scattered temporary power outages in areas under the JDECO's jurisdiction -- East Jerusalem, Bethlehem, Ramallah and Jericho -- as well as the freezing of company assets in Jerusalem, Omari told the newspaper. An IEC spokeswoman said Palestinians owe the company $164.3 million, $107.2 million of which stem from JDECO areas. The remaining debt comes from areas in the northern and southern West Bank and Gaza Strip, and should be paid by the Palestinian Authority, the spokeswoman said. Omari said the PA owes JDECO $29.7 million for electricity in government buildings, schools, hospitals and water pumping stations. Economic agreements between Israel and the Palestinians call for income tax collected by Israel on behalf of the PA each month to be transferred to the PA after Israel deducts payments for electricity, water and other services, Omari said. Only part of the sum is actually transferred to the IEC, he said. Residents in the northern and southern West Bank and Gaza never actually pay directly for electricity, he said. Hamas in Gaza collects electricity bill fees but uses the money for its own purposes instead of sending it to the PA, Omari said.