News articles claim Gaza gets far less electricity than it really does

There have been a spate of articles in different sites over the past week about a new solar energy project in Gaza, based on a press release by the University of Birmingham.

The articles include this quote:

Project leader Dr Raya Al-Dadah, Reader in Sustainable Energy Technologies at the University of Birmingham, comments, “Just 38% of Gaza’s electricity needs currently are met. People receive less than six hours of power per day, leaving hospitals providing only critical functions such as intensive care units. Coupled with continuous conflict, the energy crisis causes high levels of stress that affect physical, mental health and well-being.”

Forbes originally kept that quote in its article as well - and then edited the highlighted part out when it was pointed out to them.

Because it is a lie.

According to the UN OCHA-OPT, Gaza gets 14 hours of electricity a day, and that number has been continuously improving for years.

No one doubts that Gaza has a serious gap between its electricity needs and its supply. The bulk of Gaza's electricity still comes from Israeli power lines. NGOs will issue reports about how Israel is supposedly withholding electricity - B'Tselem wrote an article in October that implies that Gaza gets only four hours a day based on a small time period in the summer when Israel closed the Kerem Shalom crossing because of bomb attacks (and even then it received six hours according to OCHA, showing B'Tselem's eagerness to lie.) 

But why would the head of the solar energy project lie so baldly about how much electricity Gaza gets? 

No one can know for sure, but it is no surprise that she is a Palestinian herself.. 

(h/t Tomer Ilan)

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