The Real Human Rights Violation Is Not Offering Gazans a Choice

By now most of us are familiar with Trump’s stunning comments about relocating the current population from Gaza and rebuilding it as ‘The Riviera of the Middle East.’ He says Gaza is currently a demolition zone, mostly unfit for habitation, and that the humane thing to do is move people out to facilitate the process of a lengthy rebuild.

Leaders of Arab countries have universally opposed any plan that includes Palestinians leaving their land. They’ve branded it a form of ethnic cleansing and also a war crime, as forced population transfer is forbidden by the Geneva Conventions. Finally, they say moving Gaza residents to other countries will violate their right to self-determination.

But there’s something vital and indispensable missing here, which is the real outrage. No one seems to have any interest or even willingness to listen to Gaza residents themselves. Who cares what the foreign ministers of Arab Countries, political figures around the world, and human rights campaigners have to say? The voices that matter belong to the residents of Gaza.

Forcing Gaza residents to leave against their will would clearly be wrong. But not allowing them the opportunity to choose to leave is also wrong, if not worse.

It could very well be a difficult decision. Some Palestinians may feel an attachment to an area their family has lived in for generations, and in spite of the many difficulties desire to stay. Others might feel that the current conditions are unacceptable and be willing to go. Some might have such negative associations or horrible memories from all the death and destruction and jump at the chance for a fresh start elsewhere. No one, least of all a politician from another country or activist halfway around the world, has the right to speak for them.

Of course it’s difficult to get a sense of what Palestinians in Gaza truly think because Hamas still runs the territory. Hamas is devoted to keeping control and maintaining Gaza’s population. There are no elections or other means of political accountability, and even informal polling would be highly suspect as one doubts whether Gaza citizens would be able to express freely opinions that run counter to Hamas.

But that’s not an excuse for talking over or ignoring Gaza residents. In fact, it points to a key need: Creating an authentic democratic process that allows Gazans to take responsibility for their own national choices.

The truth is that Arab politicians, other world leaders, and human rights groups have a vested interest in not allowing Gaza’s population to resettle. They want to maintain the residents of Gaza as constantly suffering victims so that they can continue to blame Israel for their problems, cast aspersions on Israel’s legitimacy, and accuse Israel of crimes. They need Gazans to suffer in refugee camps and never permanently settle so they can continue to demand a ruinous to Israel right of return.

And this is the real tragedy. Gaza has become a cause and rallying cry for those who oppose Israel. And the political and humanitarian leaders who have become accustomed to using the plight of Gazans as a battering ram against Israel don’t want to allow resettlement and rebuilding. Their interests and the interests of the Gaza residents they claim to advocate for may entirely diverge.

It’s ironic that those who accuse Israel and now the United States of denying Palestinians their right of self-determination are so intent on preemptively rejecting Trump’s proposal on the Palestinians’ behalf, thereby denying Palestinians the right of self-determination themselves.

Of course without a democratic process we’ll never know for sure. But whatever you say about the problematic nature of encouraging a population to relocate, forbidding Gazan residents from leaving that territory if they have an opportunity to do so in order to force them to live their lives as pawns in a geopolitical conflict is the greatest human rights violation of all.