Steinitz and Dagan in Samaria (archive)
Steinitz and Dagan in Samaria (archive)Roi Hadi

Samaria Regional Council chairman Yossi Dagan sent a scathing letter to Energy Minister Yuval Steinitz Sunday calling on him to take immediate action to address the issue of insufficient electrical infrastructure in Samaria following a series of blackouts in the area.

During Shabbat, the residents of Samaria suffered dozens of power outages in all localities just as Israel began to experience a heat wave.

"I call on you to intervene immediately in the serious problem of electricity infrastructure in Samaria. We are happy that Samaria enjoys the highest growth rate in the country, about 7% per year. However the rate of adaptation of electricity infrastructure to the region does not keep pace with this. Residents of Samaria suffer from power outages at the most critical times, such as during the height of winter when there is a need for heating for babies and boilers for hot showers, and at the height of the heat when the air conditioning cannot be turned off and the heat reaches extreme and dangerous heights," Dagan wrote.

The head of the council added, "I call on you to intervene in this matter with the professional echelon in your office, to demand an increase in the energy supply to the area at these very times, to prioritize the completion of the master plan for upgrading the electricity infrastructure in Judea and Samaria. And, of course, preventing the closure of the Israel Electric Company service point to the Samaria region. This is unthinkable at a time when the electricity company is failing to provide service to residents as is done elsewhere in the country. The residents of Samaria will not be second class citizens in any area, certainly not in the basic area of ​​infrastructure."

The chairman of the Nofim settlement, Itzik Mendel, joined the call, saying, "The right to electricity is a basic right in the State of Israel. The recurring power outages in Samaria indicate a collapse of the electricity infrastructure and I call on the Minister to demand this be raised as an issue of the highest importance before we experience a total collapse of the electricity systems in the entire region."

The chairman of the Einav settlement, Motti Feldman, said:"At a temperature of 45 degrees in the middle of Shabbat, we again suffered from repeated power outages. This is unbearable and has led to distress in the community, we are entitled to electricity insurance just like any other citizen in the State of Israel. As citizens with equal obligations, we expect to have equal rights, especially since these are communities with security needs and as such must have a stable electricity infrastructure."