The Jerusalem district of the Israel Electric Corporation (IEC), which supplies power to all the Palestinian communities in the West Bank, started imposing sanctions on the Palestinian Authority at the beginning of April to force it to repay a huge debt. The company cut power to cities in the West Bank for several hours a day, starting with Bethlehem and Jericho — two of the most quiet Palestinian towns. The Palestinians expect the electric company to add other communities to the list in the coming days — most likely Nablus, Jenin and perhaps Hebron — to increase pressure on the PA.

One thing is clear: Any punitive measure against the PA, even cutting off the power supply 24/7, will not make the Palestinians pay their debt. According to the IEC’s announcement, the PA owes 1.74 billion Israeli shekels (about $430 million) — practically equal to all the funding the PA gets annually from the European Union states.

A Palestinian Finance Ministry source told Al-Monitor on condition of anonymity, “Just this week, the PA received $15 million from the EU to pay the salaries of its employees and the pensions of veteran West Bank workers who have retired. We pray every month for the money to arrive on time and give us breathing space, without which people would starve.”

When asked about the debt to the Israeli utility company, the Palestinian official said, “We don’t even dream of being able to pay back such a sum, but Israel has to understand that this is the result of its decision to freeze the transfer of funds to the PA in the past — a measure that put the PA into a tailspin.”