Why borders are closed for Palestinian refugees

The Israeli government mercifully advised Palestinian civilians to move south as the Israeli Defense Force launched its ground assault on Hamas inside Gaza’s borders. Many successfully fled despite Hamas preventing them from doing so. As I write this, more than a million Palestinians have set up camp in southern Gaza, hoping that the Egyptian government would accept them as refugees.

But Egypt refuses to open its doors, as do other neighbors including Jordan, Syria and Lebanon. In fact, the entire Arab world refuses to accept Palestinian refugees despite proclaiming unwavering support for the Palestinian people and their plight.

Egyptian President Abdel El-Sisi justified his refusal by saying that his country does not have the financial bandwidth to absorb refugees. He also says that allowing Palestinians to flee Gaza may undermine their fight for statehood and self-determination.

But wealthy Arab countries like Qatar, the UAE and Saudi Arabia refuse to accept Palestinian refugees too. So the issue is not financial. Evidently, the specter of welcoming Palestinians comes with the risk of absorbing their radicals as well. The case of Lebanon is a frightening example of the risks involved.

It will be recalled that Lebanon agreed to accept Palestinian refugees following the Arab-Israeli war of 1948 and the Six-Day War of 1967. Lebanon was a model country in the gulf back then. They had a functioning democracy with open borders, open minds and a strong economy built on financial services. About a third of the Lebanese population were Christians and they lived in relative peace with their Muslim countrymen. Beirut was known as the Paris of the east.

In less than one generation, radical Islamic Palestinians used their host country as a launching pad to attack Israel. They also mobilized to extinguish the Christian population of Lebanon whom they considered infidels. Lebanese Christian communities were bombed and subjected to sniper attacks. Those that survived were deprived of food, water and electricity. They massacred whole cities, the worst hit being the city of Damour. There, they slaughtered women and children and crucified the menfolk.

Palestinian refugees formed 11 Islamic terrorist groups while in asylum in Lebanon, including Yasser Arafat’s Palestinian Liberation Organization. They even attempted to take control of their host country’s political system with the intention of replacing Lebanese values with that of fundamentalist Islam. It was Israel that liberated Lebanon from the grip of radical terrorists and it was Israel that kicked out Yasser Arafat to Tunisia.

Since the early 80s, European and North American countries continued to accept refugees from Palestine and the Arab world. They are paying the price for it today. Many refuse to integrate into society. Instead, they insist that their host country adjust to Muslim laws and culture.

Radical Muslims in Europe and North America have resorted to murder, terror and anti-Semitic activities to show their support for Hamas following the Oct. 7 attacks. This has prompted numerous western governments to initiate a mass deportation of suspected Muslim radicals.

Violence and barbarism often accompany radical Palestinians. Tragically, there is no telling who among the Palestinian people are radicals and who are not. This is why Arab nations keep them out.

Hamas is Palestine’s jail-keeper and tormentor. Not all Palestinians are Islamic radicals. There are 2.050 million Palestinians in Gaza and only about 40,000 are Hamas fighters. Although a small minority, it only takes a sliver of the population to lead a country to a path of violence. It was the same for the Nazi movement in Germany.

Since 2007, the Gaza Strip has been de facto governed as a de facto one-party state by Hamas, which claims to represent the State of Palestine. But Hamas is not a government – it is a criminal terrorist gang whose principal purpose is to annihilate the Jewish population. Hamas attacked Israel in 2008, 2012, 2014 and 2021, none of which forwarded the cause of Palestine for statehood. Rather, it pushed it further away.

Hamas attacked Israel in Oct. 7 knowing full well that the Israelis would respond with such force and fury that civilian lives would be at risk. They did so anyway. Civilians are used by Hamas as human shields and they do this by housing their rocket launchers and munitions inside residential blocks, schools and hospitals.

Last Oct. 17, the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (a sister terrorist group to Hamas) launched a defective rocket, which landed in a hospital parking lot. Hamas took advantage of the situation and blamed Israel for it. They exaggerated the casualty count to gain global sympathy. Hamas has been on a social media offensive portraying themselves and the Palestinian people as the victims in the war they started. Many of the videos of wounded civilians were determined as fake.

In truth, Hamas has no interest in the welfare of the Palestinian people. Even after 17 years in power, the Palestinians remain bereft of clean drinking water, sewerage and electricity. It is Israel who provides these.  Cement imported to build badly needed infrastructure are diverted and used to construct underground combat tunnels. Humanitarian aid is channeled not to the people but to the officers of Hamas who sell them on the black market. Financial aid from governments and NGOs are redirected to the leaders of Hamas who live luxurious lives in Qatar and Turkey. All these are happening while the Palestinian people live sub-human lives.

Hamas’ attacks on Israel make peace in Gaza and statehood for the Palestinian people further out of reach. The Palestinian people will likely be state-less for at least another generation, thanks to the hate and bloodlust of Hamas. Indeed, Hamas is the Palestine’s jail-keeper and tormentor. Israel is doing Palestine a favor by extinguishing them.

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Email: [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @aj_masigan