It seems impossible that a region with almost twice the population of Albuquerque should have to suffer a blackout lasting 24 hours, depleting medical and food supplies, and an almost complete scarcity of transportation fuel.
This fate befell the Gaza Strip after Israel enforced a hermetic seizure that cut off supply of essential commodities to the region following Hamas' firing of more than 130 rockets, only half of which landed in Israeli territory.
Israel's defense minister Ehud Barak immediately announced that all border crossings be closed, plunging the Gaza Strip into a crisis that indiscriminately punishes the civilian population as much as the Al-Qassam Brigades responsible for firing the rockets.
The buildup that accompanied and followed the rocket attacks has left 40 Palestinians, including six civilians, dead. It has also left 1.5 million people battling for basic necessities needed to survive.
Following the international uproar the embargo evoked, Israel agreed Tuesday to let 50 trucks into Gaza Strip with a week's supply of industrial diesel fuel for the power stations and food and medical supplies to replenish the depleting stock.
But the uneven handling of the situation by Israel and the administering of collective punishment in the Gaza Strip should draw attention to the unilateralist tendency that has characterized Israel's policy.
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But more disturbing is the ambivalence of the international community in dealing with the situation.
While the Gaza Strip is gripped by an enforced darkness, the international community, it seems, has slid into a metaphorical darkness that blinds it to the heavy-handedness of Israel. While the U.S. is to be rightfully blamed for the brazenness with which Israel conducts itself, other partners, including the Palestinian Authority, Arab countries neighboring Israel and the international community, cannot be absolved of the blame either.
The situation should have embarrassed the U.S. as it follows President Bush's visit to Israel. But the American establishment - the only one with the power to prevail over Israel - is maintaining a tacit silence on the conduct of its Middle East ally.
But more disturbing is the Palestinian Authority's reluctance to condemn Israel's blockade of the Gaza Strip. While the authority is understandably at odds with Hamas, that does not explain its reluctance to speak on behalf of 1.5 million Palestinians who live under a different administration. The Palestinian Authority's silence over the issue also jeopardizes its status as a representative of the Palestinian people.
Arab countries are also complicit in perpetuating the crisis gripping the Gaza Strip. Egypt, the second largest recipient of U.S. aid after Israel, has refused to open the Rafah Crossing to allow essential supplies into the Gaza Strip. Egypt is wary of doing anything which may seem to support Hamas and which may ruffle its relationship with the U.S. and Israel.
On the other hand, countries such as Saudi Arabia have failed to take the lead in demanding that Israel reverse its blockade. The U.N., as usual, has helplessly demanded that Israel adopt a more humanitarian approach, but it doesn't have the necessary teeth to convert its request into a demand.
At the end of a dark day, the Palestinians living in the Gaza Strip are paying the price of Hamas' defiance, Israel's militarism, the Palestinian Authority's silence and the international community's ambivalence.
Clearly, there isn't much light at the end of the tunnel.
