Lt. Col. (R) Peter Lerner
It happened quickly. The moment I suggested yesterday that Egypt open its border to allow women and children from Gaza to seek temporary refuge, the so-called “pro-Palestinian” crowd erupted in outrage. Not against Egypt’s closure. Not against Hamas for using civilians as shields. Not against the very reality that innocent people are trapped in a war zone with no way out. No, their fury was directed at me, for daring to suggest a lifeline. These are the same people now outraged because of Israels renewed ground operations. Let’s examine the facts. The Rafah crossing was the primary exit from Gaza before the war. It connects Gaza to Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula. In theory, it could be a humanitarian valve, easing the pressure, allowing the most vulnerable, the sick, the elderly, the children, a chance at survival. But Egypt has kept it largely shut, the world has not demanded they help their neighbors. They’ve kept it shut not to keep people safe, but to keep them out of Egypt. And when I point that out, the outrage is deafening. Where is the outcry from the same voices who demand open borders in Europe, the US, and elsewhere? Where is the compassion that rallies for refugee rights from Ukraine, Sudan, Syria, and Afghanistan? Apparently, it evaporates at the Egyptian border when the refugees are Palestinian. This is not solidarity. It is selective outrage. Worse, it’s abandonment disguised as activism. Let me be clear: I am categorically opposed to any notion of mass evacuation or forced depopulation of Gaza. Such ideas are both morally reprehensible and strategically reckless. Gaza is the home of the Palestinian people. They belong there. Their future must be rebuilt there. My call for temporary refuge for women and children is a humanitarian gesture, not a political plan, not a demographic strategy, and certainly not a cover for expulsion. It is about saving lives, not relocating them. And so the pro-Palestinian crowd becomes, in practice, an anti-Palestinian mob, more interested in preserving their outrage than in preserving lives. I will continue to speak up for Israeli security, for Palestinian safety, and for regional responsibility. Because lives, not slogans, must come first.
