JERUSALEM, Oct 25: Israeli Defence Minister Ehud Barak approved electricity and fuel cuts against Palestinians living in the impoverished Gaza Strip on Thursday in an effort to curb rocket attacks on the Jewish state.

The decision was announced after Barak convened top army brass and defence officials to review a series of sanctions on the Gaza Strip in the wake of Israel’s classification of the Hamas-run territory as a ‘hostile entity’.

“Defence Minister Ehud Barak approved the recommendations from defence officials for periodic cuts in electricity and limitations on fuel supplies, given the continued rocket attacks,” his ministry announced.

Officials did not say precisely when the measures would come into effect but no further government approval is necessary before implementing the sanctions.

The hardline Islamist movement Hamas, which seized control of the Gaza Strip in a bloody takeover in June that saw Israel declare the territory ‘hostile’ in September, slammed the sanctions as collective punishment.

“This is part of the collective punishment meted out by the occupation government against Palestinian residents in Gaza. This is a new crime against the 1.5 million Palestinians who live in Gaza,” spokesman Taher Nunu said.

“Israeli aggression is the reason for the rocket attacks. Israeli assassinations have not stopped in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, causing Palestinian revenge for which Israel is responsible,” he added.

Israel says it wants the new sanctions to raise pressure on Gaza’s already impoverished population in an effort to force Palestinian militants to stop rocket attacks against southern Israel that the army has struggled to curb.

“There is no need for additional approval from the cabinet and the measures will be implemented gradually as warranted,” a defence ministry spokesman said.

Since Hamas’s takeover of Gaza, routing political rivals from Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas’s moderate Fatah party, around 1,000 rockets and mortars have been fired towards Israel.

Although the rockets frequently explode causing no damage or casualties, Israelis in communities near the border with the Gaza Strip live in fear from the fire and are furious with the government for not halting the attacks.

“We are left with no choice but to take these steps. I assume they will have an effect, even if not immediately,” said Deputy Defence Minister Matan Vilnai before Barak’s decision was announced.

“We are looking at a gradual disengagement from Gaza in terms of electricity supplies so they can supply electricity for themselves,” he told army radio.—AFP