Following #Israel's decision to cut the #electricity supply to #Gaza, I'm sharing a short informational thread with background on Gaza's electricity sector and the consequences of the supply cut: In times of peace, 50% of the electricity in Gaza is provided by Israel for free -> -> Gaza also has an independent diesel-fueled power plant that generates 25% of its needs, and the rest is generated through a vast deployment of private diesel generators, and one of the largest share of rooftop solar PV panels in the world. ->

Why is Israel giving up its rights to yet another disputed gas field, this time to Cyprus? Dr. Benny Spanier wrote an interesting piece for @ynetnews today. He argues that, unlike recent deals with Gaza and Lebanon, this decision entails some major missed opportunities. A thread: The “Aphrodite” gas field was discovered in Cyprus waters by Noble Energy (now Chevron) in December 2012 and is estimated to contain 130BCM. It remains undeveloped to this day, partly because 10% of it falls into Israeli economic waters and belongs to another reservoir ("Yishai")

Last week, Israel quietly approved the development of “Gaza Marine”, a small offshore gas field near Gaza that will serve the Palestinian Authority (and Hamas) both for revenue and energy independence. Why was it approved, and how does this relate to the Lebanon deal? A thread. The Gaza Marine was discovered in the late 90s, estimated to contain 30BCM. It accordance with international law and a series of agreements made between Israel and the Palestinians in 1999, it belongs to the PA. But de-facto, it can’t be developed without Israeli approval.