The Israeli government announced Thursday that it would reduce the electricity supply to

110 Kassam rockets and mortars have been launched by enemy forces.

Gaza in retaliation for ongoing rocket and mortar attacks by Palestinian Authority terrorists. This came after a two-week suspension of the measure imposed by the High Court of Justice.

Since November 1, according to the IDF Spokesman's Office, 110 Kassam rockets and mortars have been launched by enemy forces at Sderot and the western Negev.

In its statement to the High Court, the government declared its intention to begin reducing the supply of Israeli electricity to Gaza starting on Sunday, December 2. According to the decision, the power supply will not be entirely cut off, allowing the Hamas rulers of Gaza to decide where to direct the reduced flow. In order to maintain the flow of electricity to hospitals, for example, the PA's Hamas leadership will need to cut power to other areas.

The planned brown-out was announced in advance in order to avoid undue humanitarian stress, in accordance with a recent decision by Attorney General Menachem Mazuz. The Attorney General approved the measure reducing Israeli-produced electricity supplies to Gaza in principle, on condition that power is not cut completely and local Arabs are given advance notice.

According to a decision by the government in September declaring Gaza a "hostile entity," ministers voted in October to carry out sanctions against the Hamas-controlled region, including power and petroleum cuts. However, the cabinet also required that all such actions be brought before the Attorney General for review. At the time, Mazuz said that the Defense Ministry must examine how to implement the measures so that they "would not cause humanitarian harm to the civilian population."

In early November, the High Court of Justice ruled that the State had one week in which to document its claim that reducing electricity to Gaza would not cause unreasonable harm to the Arabs of Gaza. It also ruled that the left-wing groups who oppose the

The planned brown-out was announced in advance in order to avoid undue humanitarian stress.

electricity cut-off would then have another week in which to prove the opposite. The two-week suspension of the electricity sanctions came to an end on Wednesday.

IDF officials argue that power and fuel cuts to Gaza would pressure Hamas to end attacks against Israeli targets in the Negev, while not affecting hospitals, the water supply or sewage systems. If implemented correctly, the army believes, such sanctions will make a large-scale ground operation in the area unnecessary. Furthermore, all of the proposed measures have already been given legal backing by the Military Advocate General, Brig.-Gen. Avichai Mendelblit.

However, according to the Jerusalem Post, on Thursday a senior IDF official criticized the plan to cut power to Gaza, saying the policy was ineffective. The sanctions should be made more severe or dropped completely, the official said, noting that people in Gaza are still driving their cars despite Israeli cuts in fuel supplies.

Meanwhile, Attacks Continue

Meanwhile, apparently unfazed by the government's announcement, PA terrorists in Gaza continued to shell the western Negev throughout Thursday. Enemy forces fired at least 20 mortar shells and rockets at Israeli targets since the morning. No injuries were reported in any of the attacks.

As of Thursday night, PA terrorists fired seven mortar shells and two rockets at Israeli towns in the western Negev. Six of the shells landed in the town of Netiv Ha'asarah, adjacent to the Gaza region, while the two rockets landed in open areas near other Negev communities. A seventh mortar shell fired Thursday landed near the Gaza security fence.

Five mortar shells fired by enemy forces in Gaza landed near IDF positions. In one case, in the early afternoon, the shelling was part of a battle between PA gunmen and IDF soldiers at the Karni Crossing into Gaza.

The PA attack began shortly after two IDF vehicles collided near the Gaza security fence. Terrorists opened fire on a force that came to extricate one of the vehicles and fired two mortar shells at the soldiers. Witnesses reported heavy gunfights.

No soldiers were wounded in the attack, but two soldiers were lightly injured in the accident that preceded the clash. The IDF said that nine terrorists managed to escape the scene and flee deeper into Gaza.