Jordan Doubles Power Supplies to West Bank City of Jericho

Electricity cables are seen in Tyre, Lebanon July 18, 2020. REUTERS/Aziz Taher/File Photo
Electricity cables are seen in Tyre, Lebanon July 18, 2020. REUTERS/Aziz Taher/File Photo
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Jordan Doubles Power Supplies to West Bank City of Jericho

Electricity cables are seen in Tyre, Lebanon July 18, 2020. REUTERS/Aziz Taher/File Photo
Electricity cables are seen in Tyre, Lebanon July 18, 2020. REUTERS/Aziz Taher/File Photo

Jordan said on Wednesday it had doubled the electricity supply sold to the occupied West Bank city of Jericho to 80 megawatts, helping reduce its reliance on power supplied by Israel.

They said the extra supplies came from a power station in the Jordan Valley linked to an existing Palestinian grid run by the Palestinian Authority, which runs parts of the West Bank, Reuters reported.

Jordan and the Palestinian Authority have sought to expand ties under interim peace accords signed with Israel in the 1990s but accuse Israel of placing impediments, charges Israel denies.

Jordan resumed supplying power to Jericho in the Jordan Valley nearly a decade ago.

The Palestinian Authority receives most of its electricity needs for the population under its control from Israel.

Jordan has sought to expand exports to Palestinian markets and has been negotiating with Israel to ease trade hurdles. It has accused Israel of trying to keep a tight grip on the market so it can sell Israeli goods. Israel denies the charges.



Israel Conducts More Ground Raids in Southern Lebanon, Strikes Beirut Suburbs

Rubble is scattered at the site of an Israeli overnight airstrike that targeted a house in the town of Ablah in Lebanon's Bekaa valley on October 5, 2024. (AFP)
Rubble is scattered at the site of an Israeli overnight airstrike that targeted a house in the town of Ablah in Lebanon's Bekaa valley on October 5, 2024. (AFP)
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Israel Conducts More Ground Raids in Southern Lebanon, Strikes Beirut Suburbs

Rubble is scattered at the site of an Israeli overnight airstrike that targeted a house in the town of Ablah in Lebanon's Bekaa valley on October 5, 2024. (AFP)
Rubble is scattered at the site of an Israeli overnight airstrike that targeted a house in the town of Ablah in Lebanon's Bekaa valley on October 5, 2024. (AFP)

The Israeli military said on Saturday that special forces were carrying out ground raids against Hezbollah infrastructure in southern Lebanon, destroying missiles, launchpads, watchtowers and weapons storage facilities.

The military said troops also dismantled tunnel shafts that Hezbollah used to approach the Israeli border.

Israeli airstrikes also hit areas in eastern Lebanon, according to state media. At least six people were killed, according to Lebanon’s state National News Agency (NNA).

Some 1,400 Lebanese, including Hezbollah fighters and civilians, have been killed and some 1.2 million driven from their homes since Israel escalated its strikes in late September aiming to cripple Hezbollah and push it away from the countries’ shared border.

On Tuesday, Israel launched a limited ground operation into southern Lebanon. Nine Israeli troops have been killed in close fighting in the area in the past few days, which is saturated with arms and explosives, the military said.

Beirut’s southern suburbs was hit by 12 Israeli airstrikes early Saturday, including one that badly damaged a large hall Hezbollah has used to hold ceremonies, said NNA.

Later in the day, more strikes hit the area, from which tens of thousands of people have fled over the past two weeks.