Destroyed Palestinian Power Plant Generates Irony

It turns out the power plant that Israeli forces destroyed on Tuesday as part of Operation Summer Rains is insured.

By the US.

But paying a claim on the plant, which was insured for $48 million, could prove problematic for the United States, which cut off funding for all infrastructure projects in the Palestinian territories after the militant group Hamas won legislative elections in January.

The plant took 5 years to build and cost $150 million to build-- and one of the original investors was now-defunct Enron.

Fixing the facility could take weeks or even months--and then of course the violence in Gaza (even before this week) does not make the situation any easier for the prospects of fixing the plant.

The insurance that Morganti purchased covers "political violence," which includes "wars, acts of terrorism, things like that," Spinelli said. To be paid for the damage, the company must file a claim, and the Investment Corporation must determine whether the claim is covered by the policy, Spinelli said.

I wonder if terrorists carry no-fault insurance.

One final note: the funds for the insurance are kept in the US Treasury and are controlled by Congress, which raises another issue:

After the election of Hamas in January, a host of congressmen introduced bills designed to freeze US assistance to the Palestinian territories to prevent any financial benefit from reaching Hamas, designated as a terrorist organization. In April, the State Department announced it would cut off all planned funding for infrastructure in Gaza and the West Bank.

Maybe Hamas can smuggle a new power plant in one of their suitcases.

Crossposted at Israpundit

Technorati Tags: Israel and Hamas and Palestinians and Operation Summer Rains