Cutting off electricity in Gaza in the dead of summer was unconscionable. Fortunately, the EU resumed financing fuel deliveries after having earlier suspended payment because of differences with the Hamas-led authority in the Gaza Strip.

Half the inhabitants of the Gaza Strip were denied electricity for five days and nights; 700,000 people were kept in darkness and deprived of a basic means of preserving food in this hot weather, due to a cruel decision that was based on whim, not reason - if ever there is a reason for acting this way.

The EU stopped funding the electricity bill alleging that the Hamas-led authorities in the strip were taxing the grant to generate revenues, an accusation Hamas refuted all along. Fortunately their differences were resolved, but they shouldn’t have been used as justification for the blackout in central Gaza in the first place. The act amounted to collective punishment of the worst kind; hospitals, schools, houses were cut off from the mains, making the danger of epidemics ever so real.

No punitive measure against Hamas, if deemed necessary, must touch upon the basic human needs of the population.

Meanwhile, a more determined effort must be made to restart unity talks between the Palestinian Authority and the Hamas-led regime in Gaza. As long as division between them prevails, the situation is precarious and the life of people, especially in the Gaza Strip, can only be made more miserable.

Statesmanship should prevail among Palestinian leaders and the interests of the population should be honoured and protected.

At the same time, the Arab world must not remain on the sideline in the face of this deepening crisis among the Palestinians. The Arab League, in particular, must exert more pressure to restore the status quo ante in Gaza and bring the political crisis to an immediate end.

Harmony benefits all; personal gain should be foregone in the interest of the entire nation.