So, recently the state of Israel has besieged Gaza strip because of terrorist attacks from Hamas, and has cut off fuel supplies to the main power plant in the region that supplies the are with 40% of it's power. The parts of the strip that get power via powerlines from Israel and Egypt have not had their power interrupted.
Lets turn our eyes away from the bigger political picture and just look at it this way. One areas fossil fuel resources have been cut off by another nation. The strained relations between the two areas make it unlikely that the supply lines will be reestablished anytime soon. (sounds almost like whats going on with the Ukraine and Russia).
If I were the nation that had my fuel supplies cut off, and if I were freaking out about the inability to import my energy, I think I'd try to become energy independent. The more independent I/a nation am/is the less effective a blockade will be.
So why don't the Palestinians in Gaza, or Hamas, invest in solar panels, wind turbines, and wave power in this strip of land on the Mediterranean coast? They might not have the funds, but other nations who have expressed concerns about a possible humanitarian crisis (the EU) have the money. Why don't the Germans and Spanish share some of their solar and wind tech with the Palestinians to help avert this potential humanitarian crisis? Why hasn't Hamas or the non-terrorist Palestinian Authority asked for this help?
Japan, Spain, the US and a few other countries are assembling a fund to help poorer nations reduce their GHG emissions, can't the Palestinians get access to some of these funds and put up some solar panels?
I know there could be issues with transparency. But by sending the panels and turbines to Gaza strip along with some third-party installers to get the system up and running, money won't have to change hands. Thus, there can be no fear that this money would go to buying more Qazams.
Regardless where you stand on the Israel/Palestinian issue, removing the need for fuel in Gaza means that there is one less thing to worry about in the negotiations. With that need satisfied, peace-negotiations can go a little bit smoother and a little bit faster.
Isn't that something that ultimately we can all agree on?
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update: Treehugger.com just did an article about the fuel sanctions for the Gaza strip have resulted in Gazans using falafel and other kinds of food waste oil mmm who would have guessed that would happen.