Israel and Palestinian Authority President Impose Extended Power Blackout on Gaza

Interview with Stan Heller, executive director of the Middle East Crisis Committee and producer of the Struggle TV program, conducted by Melinda Tuhus

Israel has conducted three military invasions of the Gaza Strip – the Palestinian territory controlled by Hamas – since 2008. Gaza has been under an Israeli military blockade since 2006, after Hamas defeated the other major Palestinian political party, Fatah, which exerts some control over the West Bank, though Israel is ultimately in control of both territories.

In June of this year, the internecine conflict between the two Palestinian factions escalated, when the leader of Fatah, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, asked Israel to impose restrictions on electric power that Israel delivers to Gaza. The situation is truly desperate for the two million people living in the third most densely populated geographic area in the world without electricity for most of the day.

Between The Lines’ Melinda Tuhus spoke with Stanley Heller, who founded the Middle East Crisis Committee 35 years ago to address the issues of the Israel – Palestinian conflict and the role played by the U.S. In 2003, he began producing The Struggle, a half-hour weekly video news program that now runs on public access stations from northern Vermont to New Jersey. Heller recently produced his 700th show. Here, he discusses the power blackout imposed on the people of Gaza and how his show has broadened its coverage of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in recent years to address relevant environmental concerns.

For more information, visit the Middle East Crisis Committee at mecc.thestruggle.org and The Stuggle TV at thestruggle.org.

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