Israeli court rejects appeal to restore electricity in Gaza

The Israeli Supreme Court has rejected a petition submitted by the families of Israeli captives, calling on the government to resume the electricity supply to the Gaza Strip, which was halted last month following a government decision, Anadolu reported.

Judge Alex Stein dismissed the petition outright stating that the matter falls entirely within the jurisdiction of the political leadership and is not subject to judicial review. “Israel is under no obligation to supply electricity to Gaza,” he ruled.

Deputy President of the Supreme Court, Judge Noam Sohlberg, also voiced reservations about the petition, warning that even considering it risked implying the issue could be legally contested.

Meanwhile, Israeli Minister of Energy Eli Cohen expressed satisfaction at the court’s decision to reject the petition.

“The decision I led to cut off electricity from Gaza is the right one from a security and moral perspective,” Cohen posted on X on yesterday. “I am glad that the petition to force me to restore the electricity was rejected out of hand.”

Cohen further asserted that “continued pressure” on Hamas would secure the release of Israeli captives and “ensure” Hamas would not be in Gaza afterwards.

On 9 March, Israel cut off the remaining electricity supply to Gaza following what it described as a breach of a truce and prisoner exchange agreement with Hamas, subsequently resuming its military assault on the Strip.

Since it restarted its bombing campaign, Israel has killed more than 1,500 Palestinians in Gaza and injured over 3,650 others.

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