Will Gazans relocate to another country?

On Oct. 6, no resident of Gaza would have ever imagined they would soon find themselves in a war zone and ultimately homeless. Perhaps, had they known what was being planned just the next morning, they would have rushed to warn Israel, knowing that the actions of their terrorist government, Hamas, would bitterly backfire on them.

But all the events, which have caused Gazans to be in need of a new home, since most of the area is now uninhabitable, were the direct result of a massive incursion by the IDF, which had no choice but to hunt down the enemy building by building. As it sought to uncover every terrorist, who was part of an organized, well-planned massacre two years in the making, the lives of Gazans were completely upended. 

According to the Wall Street Journal: “By mid-December, Israel had dropped 29,0000 bombs, munitions and shells on the strip. Nearly 70% of Gaza’s 439,000 homes and about half of its buildings have been damaged or destroyed, including churches, mosques, factories, apartment buildings, shopping malls, luxury hotels, theaters and schools. Much of the water, electrical communications and healthcare infrastructure that made Gaza function is beyond repair.”

Of course, it goes without saying that none of that would have happened had Oct. 7 been just another ordinary day on the calendar. But it was that horrific chain of events that set off a predictable and justified response once the incomprehensible atrocities perpetrated on innocent Israelis became known. 

After all, it was Sir Isaac Newton who said, that for every action in nature, there is an equal and opposite reaction. Apparently, that was also true when it came to Hamas’ first action to parachute into Israel and brutally slaughter 1,200. The equal and opposite reaction is now a homeless population of over 2 million people who are in desperate need of a viable living solution.

That’s why the idea of relocating Gazans has emerged and developed into serious talks as different options are considered because even if the Israeli government would agree to allow residents to return, there’s literally nothing to which they can return. 

Predictably, many of Prime Minister Netanyahu’s extreme right-wing government coalition members are very much in favor of a plan to move these residents far away from Israel, although much to the ire of the U.S. State Department which has called the possibility, “inflammatory and irresponsible.”

While Netanyahu is doing his best to assure skeptics that his coalition ministers do not decide or determine what will be approved, there is, nonetheless, an ongoing inquiry into a variety of countries that might be willing to accept Gazans and provide them with a temporary, if not permanent, home. 

The one thing of which everyone can be certain is that Hamas will no longer constitute the government of Gaza, because Israel will simply not stand for that. Given there are no other suitable alternatives to govern our hostile neighbors, it further complicates the problem – the inability and impracticality for over 2 million people to return to an area with no governance, no infrastructure in place, massive unemployment, the lack of basic resources and no leadership to facilitate a rebuilding process.

Furthermore, plans are being constructed to guarantee the future safety of bordering Israeli communities, as well as the security of all of the country’s citizens, who now realize that they are no longer as safe as they had always believed. 

Those plans include “control over the Philadelphi Corridor, which runs a distance of 8.7 miles from Gaza to the Egyptian border, along with the establishment of a permanent naval blockade.

In addition to the more religious coalition members, a number of the more moderate Likud party ministers are in favor of the plan, and parties involved in the talks have explored such options as Saudi Arabia, the Congo, which has already said it would be willing to take in the migrants, as well as other unnamed nations. The plan is being characterized as a voluntary resettlement of Palestinians from Gaza. 

What’s amusing about this plan, however, is that it is being reported as ongoing “secret talks,” but it’s apparently not so secret anymore since several media outlets have already reported on it. With the protracted war, which could further be extended, depending on many different unknown factors, resettling Gazans would be the best idea for everyone. 

They would be sheltered from the rain and cold temperatures of these next few winter months, as well as be in a much safer area, away from misfired Hamas rockets or collateral damage due to the inevitable, unintended mistakes of war. For us, on the Israeli side, there would be a sense of relief, knowing there is no longer a grave threat to us, just a few kilometers away.

The question is whether their radical and uncaring leaders will allow them to seek refuge or continue to cynically use them as human shields who provide a festering abscess that serves their purposes and, at the same time, remains an unbearable burden for Israel to manage. This is the time for the world’s bystanders, who claim sympathy for Gazans, to demand that they be released to escape the ravages of a war, which their leaders began with no regard to how it would impact the lives of their people.

It will be interesting to see if Hamas terrorists continue to see Gazans as expendable props that serve their insidious purpose as they perpetuate the role of being the thorn in the side of Israel. We will all have a front-row seat to watch as they choose to exploit them, or as they release them to live more productive lives. 

Whether the migrants end up in the Sinai, Saudi Arabia, Africa or some other place, a new venue could be the fresh start that all of us need. It almost seems to be a win-win situation, but will it finally be allowed to happen? If it doesn’t, there will likely be no forthcoming solution, because this is a problem that too many people are happy to see go unsolved.

However, if it does succeed, it will not be the cure-all for Israel, because no matter what happens, she will still be reviled by enough people and nations who despise God and, therefore despise His people. The good news is that one day, there will be a reckoning, and Israel will, once again, be a delight both to the Almighty and to all those around her. “In the days to come, Jacob will take root. Israel will blossom and sprout, and they will fill the whole world with fruit.” (Isaiah 27:6)