Prime Minister Netanyahu’s Security Cabinet controversially approved this week a plan for the Israeli military to occupy Gaza City to dismantle Hamas, provide humanitarian aid outside of combat zones, and ultimately hand over control to unidentified “Arab forces,” the New York Times reported on Thursday. The goal of this endeavor is to externalize the Palestinian crisis, but at what cost?
Shifting the Burden
Netanyahu appears to be sending a clear signal with this gamble, urging “Arab neighbors to get onboard with the widely denounced Israeli plan. “This is not Israel’s problem alone, I expect Arab neighbors to assume responsibility,” he pledged. Yet, for Arab states, especially those maintaining peace (Egypt, Jordan) or normalized ties (UAE, Morocco, Bahrain), this proposition is untenable.
Avoiding a Second Nakba
At the heart of the Arab states’ reluctance lies their keen sense of the catastrophic historical implications of the devastating Israeli campaign’s criminal expansion in Gaza. Pressuring Palestinians in Gaza to leave, by starvation or bombing, would compound the trauma of displacement and erase their future homeland. It risks replicating the catastrophe of 1948.
Preserving National Stability
No Arab ruler would invite instability by hosting Gaza’s population, including possible Hamas militants, poses serious security risks. Historically, Arab governments have taken similar measures: In 1970, Jordan’s King Hussein expelled Yasser Arafat and the PLO following violent insurrections known as Black September, when the PLO became a “state within a state,” disregarding Jordanian sovereignty. This conflict resulted in thousands of casualties and the PLO’s exile to Lebanon.
Starvation as Coercion
The strategy appears well-thought-out: the need to escape increases as circumstances deteriorate and civilian survival becomes more precarious. The pressure for “voluntary repatriation,” even under duress, increases with the number of Palestinians still living in Gaza. Amnesty International has described this as “a broader effort to inflict genocide,” with severe consequences for children who suffer from malnutrition and avoidable death.
Regional Implications
Netanyahu is effectively shifting the moral and political burden onto Arab neighbors through a cruel calculus, starvation, displacement, and coercion, not sovereignty.
In essence, no Arab regime is willing to risk national stability by hosting a displaced, potentially volatile population.
Gaza’s fate cannot be externalized under duress. Israel’s framing of the Palestinian crisis as a regional burden is a political maneuver lacking both moral and strategic legitimacy.
