On Monday, February 23, the Israel Electric Corporation temporarily disconnected the grids feeding the occupied northern West Bank cities of Nablus and Jenin, as well as all areas receiving power from the Palestinian Northern West Bank Electricity Company.

A statement issued by the Palestinian company indicated: “Today, the Israel Electric Corporation limited for 45 minutes the supply of electricity to five power lines in Nablus and Jenin.” Ghassan al-Shakaa, chairman of the board of the Palestinian company, told the Ma’an news agency that the Israeli company disconnected the West Bank grids as a punitive measure for allegedly unpaid bills, even though the company he heads has no back debts. “The only unpaid bill is the latest one for 40 million shekels (around $10 million) which we received only a few days ago,” said al-Shakaa.