A109 Light Utility Helicopter flight with mayor Gisborne City from the air in November 2023.
A109 Light Utility Helicopter flight with mayor Gisborne City from the air in November 2023.
Opinion
With all the token attempts at feeding the starving Palestinians in Gaza by parachuting food and medical supplies to them, and the death and injury toll steadily mounting, why is there still no serious discussion about opening the border gates at Rafah for those Palestinians who wish to save theirlives by fleeing into the Sinai?
With so many of the Palestinians having lost their homes and facilities destroyed, a large percentage of them are living in makeshift tent camps centered in Rafah, and could self-create a safer tent city in the Sinai — where unhindered aid could be provided to them.
They could, of course, stay where they are and call Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s bluff when he says that he has plans to actually attack and move his troops into Rafah.
If Netanyahu attacks, be it sooner or later, there will likely be many more avoidible casualties. We can only wonder if the Israeli tactics are not to force the Palestinians to cross into Egypt’s territory and make the “Palestinian/Hamas problem” as much Egypt’s problem as it is Israel’s.
So far Israeli posturing over ceasefires, captive swaps and the threat of a slaughter in Rafah seem to be pointing to a tactic of making Palestinians think their only choice is to flee into the desert or die.
Israel is unlikely to be prepared to pay reparations or contribute significantly towards a rebuild of Gaza. Even if the Arab states and the UN rebuilt Gaza, the Israelis and Palistinians would be right back to the point they were at just prior to the October 7 massacre . . . except there would be more blood debt on both sides, more hatred . . . and eventually a build-up of arsenals, to have at it again.
It will be a difficult problem for any lasting solution, but in the interim there is the potential to save many lives . . . even into a safe oasis in the desert.
Yes, there is the potential . . . but is there the genuine will?
