Electricity to the occupied Palestinian city of Jericho has been reduced by an Israeli power company over a debt dispute. Director of the private Palestinian Jerusalem District Electricity Company (JDECO), Hisham Omari said, “The Israel Electric Corporation reduced the power supply to a third of its capacity in the Jericho governorate.” Omari called the power reduction “collective punishment against the Palestinian people” which would disrupt daily lives and stop factories which operate in the area Press TV reports: An official with the Israeli energy sector, whose name was not mentioned in the report, said the measure came after the Palestinian Authority and Omari’s JDECO failed to pay dues that currently amount to about USD 450 million (397 million euros). “We’ve informed all the relevant parties, and after endless attempts to reach arrangements, we’ve decided to act to reduce the debt,” said the Israeli official adding that the Jericho move was “open-ended.” The Israeli move will disrupt daily lives and stop factory activity in the area. Omari said it was “collective punishment against the Palestinian people.” The JDECO director said he sent a letter to the office of the Palestinian prime minister to “immediately intervene to stop this measure.” Ongoing talks, [...]