Earlier today, IDF spokesman Lt. Col. Richard Hecht suggested that Palestinian civilians in fear to leave the Gaza Strip for Egypt for the duration of the war. Later, the IDF clarified that this was not an official call telling residents to go to Egypt.
Which brings up the question: wouldn't that be the best possible thing for Palestinians who are in the war zone now?
Arabs throughout history have faced wars, and many have moved from one area to the next. Millions of refugees left Syria and Iraq to go to neighboring countries. Most eventually return.
For the most part, while they aren't happy about it, their Arab neighbors have accepted (if not exactly welcomed) the influxes of refugees.
Egypt too has reluctantly hosted hundreds of thousands of people fleeing Sudan, Syria, Yemen and elsewhere.
But almost no Palestinians!
The same "progressives" that insist that countries have open borders to welcome refugees who flee for little reason other than economic opportunity are surprisingly quiet about suggesting that the obvious place for Palestinians to flee is Egypt. Nations would bankroll the temporary structures and infrastructure needed. It would be just like Jordan's camps that still exist on the Syrian border.
People fleeing wars go to neighboring states. Why can't Gazans?
Of course, Egypt doesn't want them. Egypt's border to Gaza is heavily guarded. It has strict rules on which Gazans are allowed to enter and where they can go once they come.
But nevertheless, according to reports, Egypt is preparing for an influx of Gazans it does not want:
While the government source told Mada Masr that the government has issued a security alert on its borders with Gaza as it does not want its borders to be breached, preparations are being made in case that eventuality comes to pass.At Sunday’s crisis management meeting, those in attendance discussed a plan that would see tents set up in the two Egyptian cities closest to Gaza — Sheikh Zuwayed and Rafah — and to identify government buildings, such as schools or service headquarters, that can act as temporary shelters, said an official source in the North Sinai Governorate General Office who spoke to Mada Masr on condition of anonymity as they were not authorized to speak to the media. Each tent would contain mattresses, blankets, and food supplies, water and meals would be provided and medical service points set up in the vicinity.The plan, the source continued, is to be implemented if the president’s office gives instructions to do so, said the source. Instructions from the president’s office also stated that if the president tells North Sinai to implement the plan to put up shelters, the Armed Forces are to enclose the tents with cordons and Palestinians should not enter the walled city of Arish.
No one wants to host huge numbers of refugees. But people who claim to care about Palestinians, who are raising the alarm that the Gazans have no place to go to be safe, are curiously silent about this obviously flawed but temporary solution. It is certainly the least of all evils.
So why is the very idea - of Gaza civilians taking shelter in a relatively friendly Arab country - forbidden to be discussed?
Because the people who pretend to care about Palestinian lives really don't. They only want to use Palestinians as pawns, as they've been used since 1948 by the Arab world. Every Palestinian who is in misery is a potential terrorist or a potential subject for a newspaper article about how cruel Israel is. Every dead Palestinian is a victory for those who hate Israel.
Israel would love for the Gaza civilians to get out of the way so it can destroy the terrorist infrastructure and the terrorists. Hamas wants to continue to use them as human shields. Gaza's civilians want to have the choice of where they go.
And ostensible "pro-Palestinian activists" are on Hamas' side.
