ISRAEL APPARENTLY considers toilet paper, laundry detergent, dish soap and shoes threats to its security—why else would it add these mundane and harmless items to a laundry list of basic necessities not allowed into Gaza? Nor is the exclusion of these necessities a harmless idiosyncrasy—for, with the exception of goods that are smuggled in (see Jan./Feb. 2009 Washington Report, p. 19), nothing can enter or leave the Gaza Strip without Israeli approval. The besieged and battered 25-mile-long stretch of land, regularly referred to as the world’s largest prison, is home to 1.5 million inadvertent inmates, nearly two-thirds of whom are under the age of 18.

Shortly after U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s visit to Israel and Palestine during the first week of March, European diplomats and various international organizations began raising objections to Israel’s sweeping restrictions. Several international non-governmental organizations (…