Israeli General Insists Strike on Gaza Power Plant an Accident

Israeli Air Force General Yaron Rosen today denied that yesterday’s attack on the Gaza Strip’s only power plant was intentional, saying the nation had no interest in striking the enclave’s only source of electricity.

Gen. Rosen rather suggested the strike was unintentional, and the result of munitions “skipping” when they hit the ground and bouncing toward unintended targets.

Rosen went on to claim that in the past the Palestinians have made up the stories of such attacks, though the giant fireball and the lack of electricity to 1.8 million Gazans are both likely pretty hard to fake. He promised an investigation.

Gazans expressed doubts about the Israeli story, seeing the attack as just the latest in a long line of “collective punishment” strikes against the civilian population. Operators at the power plant say the damage will take at least a year to repair to the extent that electricity can be generated there.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.