After five days in the dark residents of several Samaria communities finally have power – after the Israel Air Force parachuted generators into their towns.

After days of round the clock work, Israel Electric Company workers have still not been able to restore power to all those who lost it in the wake of the ferocious winter storm that hit Israel beginning last Wednesday. Many Israelis in Jerusalem, Judea and Samaria, and in northern Israel lost power on Thursday night, as snow piled up and downed power lines throughout the country.

As of Monday night, some 5,500 households around Israel were still without power, 2,500 of them in Jerusalem. Most of the balance are in Judea and Samaria, in places like Itamar and Shilo,where heavy snow downed numerous power lines.

With snow still piled high, blocking access to repair trucks, the Israel Air Force on Monday parachuted generators into the two communities, after it became clear that residents were going to have to spend another night in the dark.

One area that is back online is the Gush Etzion Regional Council. Council officials worked with IEC repair teams to ensure that all towns in the Council region were connected to the grid.