Israel PM searches in vain for a country to take Gaza’s displaced

Abdulrahman Al-Rashed

Even US President Donald Trump seems to have lost patience with Benjamin Netanyahu, offering the Israeli prime minister both a note and a piece of advice. He said: “They’re going to have to get that war over with. But it is hurting Israel. There’s no question about it. They may be winning the war, but they’re not winning the world of public relations.”

Netanyahu is searching for alternative countries to which he could send 1 million people from Gaza. Syria, Somalia, Somaliland, South Sudan, and Indonesia have been mentioned. Of course, the Israeli leader does not want them geographically close, and has avoided looking into Canada or Europe for fear they could become a counterforce.

Netanyahu only knows one thing clearly: the slow destruction of Gaza. Yet he has not come up with a solution for the post-war phase. It seems he does not want to end the conflict without a program to displace a large portion of Gaza’s residents, and he appears to have failed to secure suitable destinations.

It is not true, as has been rumored, that he wants to push Palestinians into Israel’s security periphery, such as the Syrian Arab Republic, because there they could become a future threat, as they did in Lebanon. Nor does it appear that any of the other countries agreed to the numbers he seeks to deport.

In the Gaza war, Netanyahu has overseen widespread crimes, the killing of more than 50,000 people and also the deaths of dozens of Israeli hostages. Yet this does not seem to trouble him or keep him awake at night. He continues his response and has rejected all versions of ceasefire proposals, including those engineered by Trump’s envoys.

He allows only small amounts of food and medical aid into the enclave, claiming suspicion regarding their contents and who controls them. However, this was an issue that could have been resolved from the start.

The Israeli leader questions the aid passing through the Egyptian crossing or airdrops of relief supplies, though other solutions exist. He could have allowed aid through Israel itself under its supervision. Israel’s Ashdod port is only 40 km from Gaza. Likewise, by air, aid could have been sent through Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv, just 70 km away by road.

As for the hostages, they rank last in Netanyahu’s priorities. He is backed in this by military leaders who share in defining the goals of the war. Hamas’ continued holding of the captives has made it easier for Israel to justify the war to the world.

The truth is, Netanyahu has for years used Hamas to serve his agendas in three propaganda tracks: first, to split the Palestinian ranks; second, to stall any political solution; and third, to brand Palestinians, through Hamas, as armed Islamist groups dangerous to the West. When Hamas launched its wide-scale attacks on Oct. 7, 2023, the region opened up to him, granting him license to destroy all opposing armed forces.

From the start of the military campaign in Gaza, Hamas should have withdrawn from the enclave to deny Netanyahu the chance to destroy it and commit these massacres. This is what Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat did when Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon’s forces besieged Beirut in 1982, choosing to leave with his men.

Hamas caused all these massacres and, in every round, bends and offers new concessions that are no longer enough for Netanyahu. If Iran, bristling with weapons, has refrained from escalating further and accepted its losses, and if Hezbollah, the giant militia, has signed a ceasefire agreement and endured heavy losses of leaders, fighters, and resources, then who is Hamas to continue its defiance and give Israel justification to destroy what remains?

The few who defend Hamas might cite Trump’s observation that Netanyahu is losing public support. They consider public opinion a victory, but such victories are flimsy illusions and media bubbles that people soon forget.

Netanyahu has been losing in the media for 20 years and it does not bother him much. It would matter only if Trump worried about its effect on his own elections, forcing him to intervene or rally UN Security Council members to punish Israel. None of this has happened, nor will it happen.

The media and political embarrassment for Israel is nothing more than background noise for Netanyahu. In fact, it gives him the image of a leader protecting Israelis before the world, winning him more support and admiration. Added to his “gains” in Gaza is his victory in the battle against US universities, defeating protesters and tightening the noose around pro-Gaza groups. So what has Hamas — or the Palestinian cause — gained from this war in propaganda terms? Nothing but fleeting boastfulness, while in reality the losses on the ground have been catastrophic.

Courtesy: arabnews