Israel: We'll cut Gaza power if our electric grid is hit

Israel is threatening to cut off the Gaza Strip's electricity supply if a Qassam rocket hits a vital Israeli infrastructure facility.

On Sunday, after a Qassam rocket fired from Gaza landed not far from an Israel Electric Corporation power plant south of Ashkelon, Israel told the Palestinian Authority that it planned to shut off power for two hours in early Monday morning, as a warning of things to come if the Qassam fire did not stop.

However, implementation was indefinitely postponed to give the main Palestinian hospital in Gaza time to purchase emergency generators.

The Qassam rocket fired at the power plant - which, according to the Israel Defense Forces, was launched from the ruins of the settlement of Dugit, in the northern Gaza Strip - was the second rocket fired at Ashkelon in the past week.

Four Qassams landed in Israel yesterday: one on an army base, and the other three in open areas near Sderot and the western Negev. They caused neither casualties nor property damage, but the Red Dawn warning system in Sderot went off twice yesterday evening, sending the town's residents scurrying for shelter.

Cutting off Gaza's electricity would not only turn off all the lights in the Strip, but would also cause damage to many workshops and factories.

During a high-level discussion among Israeli officials, some argued that such a step would be ineffective because to the Palestinian terror organizations, the most important thing is hurting Israel - even if this also results in serious harm to the Palestinians.

However, the prevailing view was that Palestinian public opinion could pressure the terrorist organizations to restrain their attacks if many Palestinians came to feel that the price they were paying for such attacks was too high.

Nir Hasson contributed to this report.