Blacking Out Gaza
In response to a government decision to punitively disrupt the supply of fuel and electricity to Gaza, ten Palestinian and Israeli human rights organizations, in cooperation with the deputy director of a water company for towns along the coast of Gaza and a farmer from Beit Hanoun, have petitioned the Supreme Court of Israel, demanding an immediate injunction. The petition, filed on 28 October 2007, called for an injunction to be issued against the Minister of Public Security and the Prime Minister.
The petitioners argued that the government’s recent decision to interrupt electricity and fuel supplies to the Gaza Strip is illegal, and if implemented, would endanger innocent civilians. It is likely to endanger the functioning of hospitals and sewage and water services, and will interrupt the operation of medical equipment as well as vital household electrical equipment such as refrigerators, including those needed to refrigerate essential medical supplies. “Deliberately obstructing the civilian infrastructure in the Gaza Strip is illegal. International law does not allow ‘minor damage.’ It bans collective punishment entirely,” argued the petitioners.
On 30 January 2008, Israel’s Supreme Court rejected the petition permitting the governmental decision which authorized punitive measures against the population of Gaza. The petitioners had argued that cutting fuel and electricity supplies constitutes collective punishment and violates the prohibition in international law against deliberately targeting civilians. The fuel cuts, which have forced Gaza’s only power plant to reduce production of electricity, have severely disrupted the functioning of vital humanitarian services, including hospitals, water wells, and sewage pumps.
The petitioners included Adalah: The Legal Center for Arab Minority Rights in Israel; Gisha - Legal Center for Freedom of Movement; HaMoked: Center for the Defence of the Individual; Physicians for Human Rights-Israel; The Palestinian Centre for Human Rights; The Public Committee Against Torture in Israel; Gaza Community Mental Health Programme; B’Tselem - The Israeli Information Center for Human Rights in the Occupied Territories; Al-Haq; Al Mezan Center for Human Rights
H.C. 9132/07, Jaber al-Basyouni Ahmed v. The Prime Minister
Legal Materials
The Petition (English, Hebrew)
The Initial Response of the State (Hebrew)
The Decision of the Supreme Court, 30 November 2007 (English, Hebrew)
The Response of the State (Hebrew)
The Response of the Petitioners (Hebrew)
The Final Decision of the Supreme Court, 30 January 2008 (English, Hebrew)
Press Releases
Click here for a full timeline of events.
31 January 2008
Adalah: The Supreme Court Rejects Petition challenging Fuel and Electricity Cuts to Gaza
28 January 2008
Despite the Humanitarian Crisis, Israel Continues Cutbacks Policy in Fuel to Gaza
21 January 2008
Adalah Demands Immediate Entry of Food, Medications and Humanitarian Supplies to the Gaza Strip
21 January 2008
Human Rights Organizations Demand Injunction from the Supreme Court to Prevent Israel from Continuing to Bar Fuel from Reaching Gaza
25 December 2007
Supreme Court Sharply Criticizes State Attorneys for Submitting Erroneous Information on Gaza Electricity Supply
20 December 2007
Court Document Reveals Military's Reckless Electricity Gamble in Gaza
4 December 2007
Supreme Court Approves Israeli Government’s Decision to Cut Fuel Supplies to Gaza and Temporarily Freezes Cuts in Electricity Supplies
30 November 2007
Supreme Court’s Decision to Cut Fuel Supplies to Gaza Violates International Humanitarian Law
29 November 2007
Supreme Court Due to Deliver its Decision on Petition against State’s Decision to Cut Supplies of Fuel and Electricity to the Gaza Strip
15 November 2007
Ten Human Rights Organizations File Urgent Motion to Supreme Court Seeking Injunction to Prevent Israeli Government from Blacking Out Gaza
