Indeed, the flow of 700,000 Palestinians over the course of two days through holes blasted in the barrier erected a few years ago by Israel, has also blasted apart the manner in which Israel, the United States, and the government of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, have so far dealt with Hamas.
What happened demonstrates that a new policy is badly needed. Last week's events bring proof that the measures applied to force Hamas into submission have been a complete failure. It shows that a military imposed solution is clearly not going to work. The forced containment of Gaza's population, which resulted in last week's exodus into Egypt, now only accentuates the crisis.
First, it brings Egypt back into the role of having to play policeman in Gaza, a role Cairo does not cherish. Israel placed the onus on Egypt, saying that Cairo was responsible for securing its side of the border. No doubt a phone call from Washington helped remind Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak of the millions of dollars the U.S. contributes every year, helping him remain in power. Cairo, however, faces its own problems with home-grown Islamist movements, and clearly does not need the complications of coming across as being the one obliged to enforce Israeli policy against fellow Arabs and Muslims. The last thing Mubarak needs now is to have the street mobilized in support of Hamas and giving way to an outcry against his regime.
Second, despite passing the ball to the Egyptians, saying that Egypt's border guards should have done a better job at preventing the Palestinians from crossing the border, the Gaza incident is a slap in the face to the government of Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert. It is a clear sign that Olmert, already one of the weakest prime ministers in the history of the Jewish state, has failed when it comes to dealing with Hamas.
And third, it is an embarrassment to the authority of Abbas who, after having lost control of the Gaza Strip to Hamas, has been unable to negotiate an agreement to ensure the well-being of the Palestinians in Gaza.
In retrospect, the Arab world and Israel got off easy last week and can breathe a sigh of relief; a very temporary relief however. The organizers of the 'march' into Egypt were quite confident that Egyptian border guards would not fire on fellow Arabs and Muslims. Had they done so and killed dozens of hungry Palestinians there would have been massive riots in Cairo and other Arab cities.
But now the leaders concerned by this precarious turn of events must act, and must act quickly, before the Gazans put on a repeat performance; next time deciding, perhaps, that they will march on an Israeli border post instead of the Egyptian one. Imagine the consequences then.