While one might conclude from Western media that widespread poverty in the Gaza Strip is the result of the blockade imposed by Israel and Egypt to stop Hamas, which rules the area, from smuggling weapons, in fact a massive two-way traffic in goods passes through the Israeli-controlled Kerem Shalom crossing every day. Moreover, Israel allows Qatar to supply Hamas with billions of dollars in cash, not to mention United Nations aid. A far greater contribution to Gaza’s woes comes from the Palestinian Authority (PA), which has imposed a blockade of its own—a result of the feud between Hamas and the PA’s ruling Fatah party. Gidon Ben-Zvi writes, that the PA president Mahmoud Abbas has cut welfare payments in Gaza (which still run through Ramallah) and slashed funding for electricity. And that’s not all:

Commenting on the recent swearing-in of the new governing coalition in Jerusalem, Shany Mor writes: