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Commentary;
As predicted on this blog a few days ago, electrical power cut sanctions against Gaza are to be suspended. The suspension is upon order of Attorney General Mazuz.
For context regarding Israel’s planned sactions against Gaza,
click here. MB
Atty. Gen. Mazuz Orders Power Cuts in Gaza Suspended, by Nissan Ratzlav-Katz (Israel National News)
Excerpts;
While not rejecting outright the option of power cuts to the Hamas-controlled Gaza region in response to continued enemy rocket attacks from the PA, Attorney General Menachem Mazuz said Monday night that the measure should be suspended. The government requires Mazuz’s approval in order to carry out the sanctions.
If implemented correctly, the army believes, such sanctions will make a large-scale ground operation in the area unnecessary. Furthermore, all of the proposed measures have already been given legal backing by the Military Advocate General, Brig.-Gen. Avichai Mendelblit.
Although he rejected the plan to cut Gaza’s supply of electricity, Mazuz approved other measures proposed by the government, such as commercial and economic sanctions against the PA in Gaza.
The Monday night meeting with Mazuz was attended by officials from the Ministries of Defense, Foreign Affairs and Justice, State Prosecutor Eran Shendar, as well as legal counsel from the Prime Minister’s Office, the IDF and the National Security Council.
Reactions
Attorney Yossi Fuchs of the Land of Israel Legal Forum said Monday that Attorney General Mazuz’s decision not to allow temporary cuts in the supply of Israeli electricity to Gaza was a moral failure.“The Attorney General’s decision shows concern for the residents of Gaza,” Fuchs said, “but actually, he is ignoring the suffering of the children of Sderot.”
The Rabbinical Council of Judea, Samaria and Gaza released a statement on Tuesday condemning Atty. Gen. Mazuz’s decision, saying that “it may lead to the deaths of soldiers and civilians.” The rabbis laid the blame for recent IDF casualties in Gaza on orders intended to protect “so-called innocents among the terror-supporting population.”
The Rabbinical Council went on to explain that Jewish law allows for siege measures that would harm the population of the enemy entity in Gaza, “because, according to the definition used in Jewish law, the daily Kassam rocket barrages on the precious residents of the south constitute war in every respect.”
The statement, signed by Rabbis Dov Lior and Daniel Shiloh, concludes with words of encouragement for the implementation of the government’s “correct decision.”