As a possible Hostage deal gets closer, the ultimate fate of Gaza needs to be addressed. Prime Minister Netanyahu has already made it clear that Israel will retain the right of security control to prevent another October 7. This is a stop-gap measure. It does not work as a long-term solution. It simply kicks the can further down the road. The narrative about Gaza has to drastically change. October 7 was a wake-up call. Allowing the Gaza situation to remain as it was in the past is totally unacceptable. With upwards of 70% of the Gaza population not only supportive of what Hamas did on October 7 but complicit in their crimes and atrocities, a military victory, which Israel is completing, is not enough.
Gaza has been a festering sore for 75 years. The Arab world has used it to blame Israel at every turn. From 1948 to 1967, the Arab countries who were in control of Gaza at the time did little to make the lot of their brethren better. After Israel’s own expulsion of 22 Jewish Gush Katif communities in 2005, which the world calls the “disengagement,” billions of dollars earmarked for Gaza’s infrastructure was used to build terror tunnels. The idea of pouring money into Gaza and everything is going to be just fine is not a viable option. It has failed miserably time and time again.
The New York Times, in an attempt to once again criticize Israel and make Israel look bad ran, a front-page story entitled, “When Escaping Gaza Means Buying a Way Out” -“Exiting through Egypt often assisted by GoFundMe.” The article estimates that 100,000 Gazans have left this way. A firm by the name of Hala charges $5000 per person to leave Gaza for Egypt. GoFundMe has stated that more than $150 million has been contributed to Gazans. Much of this was for the purpose of leaving Gaza. Those who leave do not intend to return. Most Gazans, if given the opportunity, would follow the same path. The majority of Gazans cannot afford the fees required to leave. Inadvertently, The New York Times has actually offered a solution to the Gaza problem. If every Gazan was offered $15,000 and every Arab host country given $15,000 per person, then for $60 billion, two million Gazans (the number is probably closer to 1.7 million) could be happily moved to Egypt, or any other country that would take them in. It is estimated that Israel’s war against Hamas has already cost Israel the same $60 billion. If the international community ever put their heads together, they would realize that a Gaza buyout is the most rational and humane approach to a very difficult problem that has gone on for way too long.
Joseph M. Frager is a physician and lifelong activist.
