To not understand why the Palestinians did not put up solar panel farms

[emilysquest]

This may be naive in the extreme, but I was reading the reports this morning that Gaza will run out of power today, which is horrific. I dread to think what is going to happen now to those poor people.

This caused me to think: We happen to be in the process of making ourselves completely self-sufficient (off-grid) using solar panels (and some wind), and this is in Ireland, so not a sunny place like Palestine.

My question is, given the Gaza Strip was always dependent on power from Israel, which they regard (rightly) as a hostile country, why have they not in all the years sought to become self-sufficient (or at least more self-sufficient) with regard to power, to prevent the kind of blockade they are experiencing now?

Actually an allied question for those who know would be: travelling in eastern Europe recently, especially Bulgaria, there are huge solar farms everywhere. I have not been to the Middle East (well not since I was a baby), but do they use solar at all? It would seem to be an obvious choice given the climate.

Where on earth would they put it? There’s not enough land to house people already there, where would you fit this?

Then there’s the issue of constant war. The first thing you do is take out essential infrastructure, so in the event of war it would be destroyed on day 1.

The point about children building infrastructure projects is mad. I am talking about using the aid money they have received, plus the money they get from Iran and other backers, to pay contractors to build infrastructure. Most African countries have very young populations,they don't have children building their UN funded projects!

Obviously OP is naive about Gaza. It is however a very good question about why any country isn't doing more to not be reliant on oil and gas.
Especially in other countries in the ME who have vast amounts of sunshine, space and money. The reason is is that they (like us) are influenced politically by the oil industry. So the political will isn't there.
We also should not be using oil and gas nearly as much as we do but it is sadly corrupt at the top.

Solar farms apparently work better in not so sunny UK than the Middle East where they just get covered in sand.

But more to the point, there is absolutely no space to put them in Gaza and Hamas don't actually care about infrastructure and spend all the money on Jihad.

Well, we can say the same of Ireland, the uk and the rest of the planet… if we are not fully on sun generated energy already it is because it was cheaper to generate electricity using non renewable resources.

They are not stupid you know? They are just poor. And if we are still not having all our electricity produced on wind or sun farms with all our resources how do you expect a country under so much historical long term stresses could? I’m sorry OP but I think you are having a proper Marie Antoniette lapsus.

Because Hamas have only one aim - the eradication of Israel.

They are not interested in Governing nor the welfare of the people under them.

It's one of the most density populated areas on earth and has limited access to resources and any obvious infrastructure at minute would be targeted first.

However why the leadership hasn't been prioritizing civilian population infrastructure needs - money and resources limitations and I suspect a lack of focus on the population needs as oppose to fighting Israel and little focus that existed for it was probably focused on daily and more immediate problems rather than long term planning and infrastructure.

Yes, I am naive about Gaza, exactly so, that is why I asked the question, and linked it to a wider question about using sustainable energy in the region.

@Bells3032 that is exactly what I mean, this highlights what Hamas is, and begs the question as to how they have been able to build their paramilitary capability while ignoring their civilian population.

They would have to go on rooves which in the Middle East are flat, also used as rooms in hot weather, but how would you connect all the Rooves - long loops of cable everywhere?

No-one is saying this is happening because anyone is stupid. I was just imagining a different world in which the leaders of a small encircled nation spend their resources on ensuring the safety of their population rather than on guns, which are going to turn out to be pointless in the end anyway, given what is coming.

Naive? Or just wishing for a better world. Both obviously.

Oh sure because they get the funds to use at leisure! God Op, you really need to educate yourself, funds are normally allocated with very strict conditions on how they should be used, it is not money to spare at random.

Instead of criticising other countries, you may want to ask yourself why you don’t have a bunch of solar panels or wind turbines in your back garden, go through all the options and you will get the answers you need.

Emily, start planing how to get ALL your electricity from self financed solar panels at home, I am sure that will answer ALL of your questions.

Among some of the images from Gaza many building have/had solar panels, so I think individuals are using them.

@MeMySonAnd1 that is exactly what I do have. But that is not the point at all. I was just pondering why Hamas did not apply fundind for more sustainable power infrastructure years ago. The UN and other international bodies and governments have backed large and expensive infrastructure in other countries throughout the world.

Maybe there being a blockade has something to do with it?

Because

trad sources are cheaper, and they rightly think that any energy system would be bombed in the event of conflict. That’s always what you do in a war - as soon as you can you take out the enemies food supply, power, roads, so they are disabled. That’s what would have happened in this instance if they had solar farms

It’s a tiny densely populated area, so even if the above weren’t the case, I doubt they have room. But anyway it’s irrelevant because of the above.

They are pumping their efforts into what they see as a war. They are not a government in the sense you appear to expect them to be - they are focused on one issue only. But even if they were.. it’s irrelevant because of the first point above.

From Euronews in October 2022 -
Solar energy installations in Gaza are often supported by foreign investments and NGOs.
For example, the World Bank launched in 2018 the Gaza Solar Revolving Fund. The United Nations also has an ongoing project to provide electricity to four hospitals in the Gaza Strip thanks to photovoltaic panels.
According to the journal Energy, Sustainability and Society, 20 per cent of households in Gaza now rely on solar energy.

I think you just need to do a little bit of research, apart from the points above, they are not a government in the sense you seem to think they are.

They are a single issue organisation locked in an age old conflict. History is very present in that part of the world.

You're assuming Hamas genuinely cares about the quality of life for Palestinians in Gaza.

They really don't and they use hardship to feed their terrorist ideology in order to gain further support. They create a feedback loop that uses logical fallacies to justify their own deliberate actions towards the Palestinians they claim to be defending.

Since their aims towards Israel is clear, they will largely use any money they get to puy towards their own terrorist activities.

That's ultimately why 80% of Palestinians rely on Humanitarian Aid.

Why can’t Gaza, a densely populated hell hole without enough money to feed its citizens, install vast solar panel farms? Emily from Ireland did.

I think you're being very naive and uninformed. Pp have already said that humanitarian aid does not reach the people it's intended for.

I did a quick internet search on this question. Below is a link to an interesting article on the use of solar panels to overcome limited power issues impacting health care facilities in the Gaza Strip.

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/gaza-access-less-40-energy-needs-locals-hope-solar-power-can-fill-gap-rcna43723

In 2022, the World Bank announced a $23.5 million grant earlier to invest in alternative energy sources like solar to advance sustainability in the Palestinian energy sector

https://www.worldbank.org/en/news/press-release/2022/04/12/us-23-5-million-grant-to-advance-sustainability-in-palestinian-energy-sector

Any attempt at the installation of solar panels is complicated by logistics and the transport of materials in areas of occupation and blockade, and by the geographical separation, and political/leadership division, between Gaza and the West Bank.

Typically, at least in the occupied West Bank, the Israeli state in the past has declared any attempt to do so illegal and demolished the installation

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/israel-solar-panels-palestinians-seize-dutch-government-donate-jubbet-aldhib-area-c-a7820711.html

https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2012/mar/14/palestinians-prepare-to-lose-solar-panels

This

Hamas is the enemy of the Palestinian people.

Gaza is not a 'normal' place functioning by 'normal' rules, their government is a terrorist organisation for a start. Making life better for the citizens of Gaza isn't really high on their to do list.

I did a very quick rough calculation.

If you assume that each person needs a 2Kw system, that's a little under 6 solar panels each. 6*2400000 people =14400000 panels.
Each panel is roughly 2m^2
So 28800000 m^2 required.
That's a shade under 29km^2.

Gaza is 45km^2.

If you put in enough solar panels for the populous, assuming of course that Hamas were motivated to do that rather than to ruthlessly control their population, while plotting the downfall of Israel, you've not left a lot of space for the 2.4 million people to live.