Muslim countries must open their borders to Gaza refugees
Washington Examiner
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The Muslim world’s humanitarian pleas for the preservation of civilian life in Gaza are either sincere or cynical, and in the coming weeks, we are going to find out which.
The Israel Defense Forces advised the 600,000-plus citizens of Gaza City to evacuate on Thursday ahead of planned military ground operations against Hamas in the area. “Those that want to save their life, please go south,” the IDF warned.
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Hamas, which has continued firing rockets into Israel after the kidnap, rape, and murder of Israeli civilians last Saturday, counseled residents to ignore this warning and stay. “Our Palestinian people reject the threat made by the leaders of the occupation and its call for Gazans to leave their houses and leave to the south or to Egypt,” a Hamas statement read. Its spokesman also rejected the idea that Gazans should be “forced” from their homes. No one is forcing them out, but they are being advised to leave voluntarily. One suspects that Hamas intends to force them to stay.
The terrorist organization wants civilians to stay in Gaza for two reasons: First, they are an essential component of Hamas’s military strategy. Hamas uses them as human shields to hide behind as they kill as many Israelis as possible. Second, Hamas believes that any depopulation of Gaza weakens the cause of Palestinian statehood.
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi agrees with Hamas on the second point. In a statement Thursday explaining why Egypt would keep its border closed to refugees from Gaza, Sisi said Gazans must “stay steadfast and remain on their land.”
The refusal of Egypt to open its border to Gazan refugees is both a humanitarian and strategic mistake.
The humanitarian mistake is manifest. Just as the world had the right and obligation to rid Germany of Nazis during World War II, Israel has the right and obligation to rid Gaza of Hamas. By its own charter, Hamas and Israel cannot coexist. Hamas exists to destroy Israel.
The only remaining question is how many unnecessary civilian deaths must there be before the cancer that is Hamas has been excised. Israel wants to make the number of civilian deaths as low as possible. Does the Muslim world share that goal?
Egypt is no friend of Hamas. Hamas is a branch of the Muslim Brotherhood, a violent political movement bent on destroying Egypt’s government. In 2014, Sisi even urged Israel to destroy Hamas. That should still be a common strategic goal of Israel and Egypt.
The best way Egypt can help assure a swift low-casualty end to Hamas is to open its border and take in as many Gazan refugees as possible. The more innocent civilians Egypt allows in from Gaza, the fewer human shields the terrorists will have and the quicker this conflict will end.
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Egypt should not be forced to shoulder the burden of Gazan refugees alone. Qatar is an exceptionally wealthy nation with plenty of resources to help Gazan refugees live comfortably. It already hosts the leadership of Hamas. If it has been so hospitable to Hamas already, it should be at least as hospitable to Gazan refugees.
President Joe Biden’s administration is reportedly working with Israel and Egypt to open Egypt’s border with Gaza both to bring aid into the war zone and to conduct refugees out. We hope those efforts succeed. Fewer civilians will be killed if they are.