Skip to main content

As power cuts continue, Gaza turns to solar energy

Amid an electricity crisis that has led to increasingly long daily power cuts, some residents in the Gaza Strip are turning to solar energy systems.
A Palestinian nurse tends to a baby inside an incubator in a hospital in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip March 24, 2012. Israel allowed nine fuel tankers to cross into the Gaza Strip on Friday to ease a severe power shortage triggered by a dispute over supplies between Egypt and the enclave's Hamas Islamist rulers. The fuel crisis has crippled Gaza in recent weeks. Petrol pumps have run dry and its 1.7 million residents are suffering major electricity blackouts.  REUTERS/ Ibraheem Abu Mustafa (GAZA -
Read in 

Abir al-Hurqali got dressed and put on makeup as she prepared to leave her house in the Shujaiyya neighborhood of Gaza City to attend her cousin's wedding. The ceremony was being held in a wedding hall in another part of the city. Hurqali was shocked when she tried to operate her electric wheelchair only to discover that the battery had died and needed recharging, which would take at least an hour.

When she tried to recharge the battery, Hurqali realized that the electricity was off. This left her frustrated, since she was the last person in her family to leave the house. She had to call one of her neighbors to give her a ride to the main street, where she could take a cab to the wedding. The side street leading to her home was not designed to accommodate cars, so cabs could not drive to her door.

Access the Middle East news and analysis you can trust

Join our community of Middle East readers to experience all of Al-Monitor, including 24/7 news, analyses, memos, reports and newsletters.

Subscribe

Only $100 per year.