Jerusalem District Electric Company (JDEC) announced Monday that it has received a note from the Israeli Electric Corporation that it will cut electricity supplies to Ramallah and El Beira governorate by 50 percent as of 10 am (Jerusalem local time).

In a press statement released Monday, JDEC said the decision is illegal and will paralyze life in the governorate.

The company denounced the power reduction and described it as "a political one" that comes as part of the punitive measures exercised by Israel against the Palestinian people.

Israeli sources said reducing electricity supplied by Israel to the West Bank by 50 percent comes in reaction to a failure in negotiations over a debt owed by the Palestinian Authority and the Jerusalem District Electric Company (JDEC), covering East Jerusalem, had grown to over 1.7 billion shekels (more than $451 million)

Source: MENA