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Occupied Jerusalem: Israel began cutting electrical power to the Gaza Strip as part of a plan to sever economic ties with the territory, an Israeli defence official said on Friday.
It is the latest in a series of Israeli steps to increase pressure on Gaza, ruled by the Hamas Islamists since June and the source of repeated rocket attacks into the Jewish state.
A spokesman for Defence Minister Ehud Barak said Israel cut 5 per cent of electricity late on Thursday on one of 10 high-power lines that supply the Gaza Strip.
The reduction will, at this point, translate to less than 1 percent of the 124 megawatts Israel supplies for the entire coastal territory, he said.
Spokesman Shlomo Dror said, "This is a signal to the Palestinians that we see their conduct in Gaza and that we want to continue the disengagement process. I hope they will focus their effort on getting new sources of energy instead of developing rockets."
Israel's deputy Defence Minister Matan Vilnai said Israel is "trying to reduce the Gaza Strip's dependence on Israel in many fields ... the High Court ruled that we are acting in a correct and appropriate manner."
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