Israel Offers Gazans Exit After Flattening Their Homes
The BBC uncritically relays Israel's claim that the Rafah crossing will 'soon' open to let Palestinians leave Gaza via Egypt. Convenient timing, given the ongoing bombardment and ground invasion making Gaza uninhabitable. This isn't a humanitarian concession; it echoes the rhetoric of 'voluntary departures' that preceded the 1948 Nakba, when 750,000 Palestinians were expelled or fled. The UN Human
Rights office has previously warned against such 'voluntary' departures, stating they could constitute forced displacement under international law (OHCHR, Oct 27, 2023). Egypt, for its part, denies coordination, insisting passage must be in both directions—a detail the BBC includes, almost as an afterthought. It's almost as if 'allowing' people to return to a future rubble-strewn wasteland from
their temporary refugee camps isn't quite the same as 'allowing' them to exit in desperation. One might wonder if the Israeli government, which receives billions in US military aid annually (OpenSecrets.org data consistently shows billions approved, e.g., $3.3 Billion in 2023), views this less as an exit for individuals and more as a convenient clearing operation.