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Shouldn’t Refugees Want to Leave an Open-Air Prison?
A general view shows destroyed buildings in northern Gaza, amid the ongoing conflict in Gaza between Israel and Hamas, near the Israel-Gaza border, Nov. 11, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Amir Cohen
The United Nations considers most Gaza residents to be refugees displaced by the creation of Israel way back in 1948. Of course, few if any individuals from that time are still living, but the UN has declared that all their descendants maintain that refugee status as well. UNRWA, the UN agency created to assist Palestinian refugees, is in fact quite deliberate in referring to the areas in Gaza where Palestinians live as refugee camps. Even though these places have fixed structures, paved streets, and are in every other way ordinary cities, UNRWA wants to remind us that these are supposed to be mere temporary living places for uprooted people, waiting generations to return to the land that is now Israel.
Even before the recent war, life in Gaza was difficult. Hamas attempted to smuggle arms and attack Israel, and Israel tightly restricted the inflow of supplies to Gaza in order to fight this. Palestinian advocates frequently referred to Gaza as an “open-air prison.” Human Rights Watch released a report describing in detail the enormous difficulties Gaza residents face when attempting to travel for personal, professional, or even medical reasons.
It’s against this backdrop that we should understand reaction to President Trump’s recent statement that Gaza is currently not suitable for habitation, and that the most humane solution is to relocate the population either permanently or temporarily to facilitate massive rebuilding.
One would expect that refugees, whose only geographic interest is supposedly returning to the land they left behind, would be largely indifferent to such a proposal. They would evaluate the offer on practical terms, asking where their economic, social, and security needs could best be met and whether the new opportunity might give them the chance to once and for all finally put down new roots.
One would also expect that people who have been subjected to decades of living in what they’ve termed an open-air prison would welcome any opportunity to leave and be grateful to whatever country makes it possible. They would be enthusiastic about the chance to finally have freedom of movement, and would be happy to relocate to a new country where they would no longer suffer the consequences of Hamas arms smuggling and the corresponding Israeli restrictions attempting to thwart it.
But of course, this is not what we’re hearing. Instead, Arab political leaders have condemned Trump’s plan and human rights experts have declared it a terrible violation of International Law.
None of these politicians or human rights spokespeople seem to have even entertained the possibility that Gaza’s Palestinians might like Trump’s idea and should be given the opportunity to decide about it for themselves. They also ignore that the Geneva Conventions specifically allow for population transfer when necessary for the security of the civilians involved, and due to the lack of housing and basic services, ordinance, and threats of further violence that exception could certainly apply.
But they also seamlessly shift from describing Gaza residents as long suffering refugees hoping to someday return to their homes to a native population firmly and comfortably entrenched in place. Riyadh Mansour, the Palestinian representative to the UN, went so far as to be quoted saying that Gaza was a precious part of a state of Palestine. He added, “We are not going to leave Gaza … There is no power on earth that can remove the Palestinian people from our ancestral homeland.”
Human rights activists are trying to have it both ways. When they want to use Gaza to accuse Israel of creating a refugee crisis and denying said refugees the right to return, they say Palestinians in Gaza are living in squalid refugee camps. When they want to accuse Israel of violating international law and collective punishment, they call it an open-air prison.
But now, when Trump gives a suggestion that would resolve Palestinians’ status such that they could no longer be weaponized for use in the decades-long campaign against Israel, they change their tune. Suddenly Gaza becomes a place where Palestinians are firmly rooted and can’t bear to leave. Gaza is no longer an open-air prison, but instead the beloved place where for many years Palestinians have been living a wholesome, fulfilling existence that would be shattered by having to move anyplace else.
No matter what claims politicians make, people in Gaza should not be forced to leave against their will. But they also should not be forced to stay if another country is willing to accept them and they would like to go.
Whatever becomes of Trump’s idea, it has already accomplished something important. It has helped to further expose the lies and hypocrisy of those advocating for Palestine. We see clearly how they altered their portrayal of Palestinians as refugees and their description of life in Gaza at a moment’s notice simply to fulfill their goal of constantly accusing Israel of crimes and blaming it for problems. The purpose of Palestinian activism is again exposed as unfortunately not a desire to help Palestinians but rather as an obsession with using them to attack Israel. That’s the greatest violation of Palestinian human rights and the biggest obstacle to peace of all.
Shlomo Levin is the author of the Human Rights Haggadah, and he writes about legal developments related to human rights issues of interest to the Jewish community. You can find him at https://hrhaggadah.com/.
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Iran Moves to Restore Ties With Bahrain, Egypt Amid Rising Middle East Tensions
Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi attends a press conference following a meeting with Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in Moscow, Russia, April 18, 2025. Photo: Tatyana Makeyeva/Pool via REUTERS
Iran has begun efforts to restore diplomatic relations with Bahrain and Egypt, signaling a potential shift in regional alliances as tensions escalate across the Middle East.
On Monday, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi announced that Iran has officially begun the process of restoring diplomatic ties with Bahrain and Egypt after years of strained relations.
Since Iran normalized relations with Saudi Arabia in 2023, Araghchi said Tehran has made several requests to renew ties with Bahrain, with ongoing efforts expected to soon yield positive results.
In 2016, Bahrain severed diplomatic ties with Iran, following Saudi Arabia’s decision to cut relations after an attack on its embassy in Tehran, which was sparked by Riyadh’s execution of a prominent Shia Muslim cleric.
In 2023, Tehran and Riyadh reached an agreement in Beijing to restore diplomatic relations and reopen their embassies and diplomatic missions.
Since then, the Islamic Republic has taken further steps to strengthen its relationship with Bahrain. Last year, Araghchi met with Bahrain’s King, Hamad bin Isa al Khalifa, in the country’s capital to discuss bilateral ties and the latest regional developments.
Bahrain normalized relations with Israel, which Iranian leaders regularly say they seek to destroy, in 2020 as part of the US-brokered Abraham Accords.
As for Egypt, the country severed diplomatic relations with Tehran in 1980 following Iran’s 1979 Islamic revolution and Egypt’s recognition of Israel.
Araghchi said ties between the two countries have strengthened significantly, with regular high-level meetings and continuous dialogue.
Iran’s expanding relationship with Egypt comes at a time of increased tension between Cairo and Jerusalem, amid Israeli accusations that Egypt has violated their peace agreement.
Israeli defense officials have previously expressed growing concern over Cairo’s military buildup and armed presence in the Sinai Peninsula.
These concerns come amid escalating tensions between Israel and Egypt since the outbreak of the war in Gaza, particularly over the Philadelphi Corridor along the Gaza-Egypt border, where Cairo has demanded Jerusalem withdraw its forces.
While details about Egypt’s military buildup remain unclear, “satellite images have shown the movement of tanks and battalions that exceed the limits set by the Camp David Accords,” Mariam Wahba, research analyst at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD), told The Algemeiner.
Under the 1979 peace treaty, Egypt can request permission from Israel to deploy more than the 47 battalions allowed. However, some estimates suggest that there are currently camps for 180 battalions.
“The Camp David Accords have long been a pillar of peace and stability in the Middle East,” Wahba explained. “A breakdown of the agreement would have serious implications, not just for Israel and Egypt but for the broader region. It could embolden actors like Iran and its proxies to exploit tensions and could lead to increased militarization along Israel’s southern border.”
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EU to Review Agreement With Israel Over Gaza Concerns, Kallas Says
EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and Vice-President of the European Commission Kaja Kallas attends a press conference with Moldova’s President Maia Sandu following their meeting in Chisinau, Moldova, April 24, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Vladislav Culiomza
The European Union will review a pact governing its political and economic ties with Israel due to the “catastrophic” situation in Gaza, EU top diplomat Kaja Kallas said on Tuesday after a meeting of the bloc’s foreign ministers.
International pressure on Israel has mounted in recent days amid complaints about the lack of humanitarian aid reaching Gaza and as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government launched a new military offensive against the Hamas terrorist group in the enclave.
Kallas said a “strong majority” of the ministers meeting in Brussels favored such a review of the agreement with Israel, known as an association agreement, in light of events in Gaza.
Diplomats said 17 of 27 EU members backed the review, which will focus on whether Israel is complying with a human rights clause in the agreement, and was proposed by Dutch Foreign Minister Caspar Veldkamp.
“The situation in Gaza is catastrophic. The aid that Israel has allowed in is of course welcomed, but it’s a drop in the ocean. Aid must flow immediately, without obstruction and at scale, because this is what is needed,” Kallas told reporters.
There was no immediate comment from Israel on the EU decision. Israeli officials have said their operations in Gaza are necessary to destroy Hamas, the Palestinian group responsible for the Oct. 7, 2023, invasion of and massacre across southern Israel. Hamas also kidnapped several hostages that Israel is trying to free from captivity in Gaza.
Under the pact, which came into force in 2000, the EU and Israel agreed that their relationship “shall be based on respect for human rights and democratic principles, which guides their internal and international policy.”
In a letter proposing a review, Veldkamp raised concerns about Israeli policies “exacerbating an already dire humanitarian situation.”
He also cited “statements by Israeli cabinet members about a permanent presence that alludes to a reoccupation of (parts of) the Gaza Strip, Syria and Lebanon” and a “further worsening of the situation in the West Bank.”
On Tuesday, Dutch minister Veldkamp called the review “a very important and powerful signal,” echoing sentiments of officials from France and Ireland.
But others did not back a review. Czech Foreign Minister Jan Lipavsky suggested the bloc could hold a meeting with Israel under the association agreement to raise concerns.
Kallas said EU sanctions on Israeli settlers in the West Bank had been prepared but have so far been blocked by one member state. Diplomats said that country was Hungary.
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Syrian Leadership Approved Return of Executed Spy Eli Cohen’s Belongings to Israel, Sources Say
Nadia, widow of Israeli spy Eli Cohen, looks at photographs depicting her late husband during an interview with Reuters in Herzliya, Israel, Oct. 6, 2019. Photo: REUTERS/Amir Cohen
Syria’s leadership approved the handover of the belongings of long-dead spy Eli Cohen to Israel in a bid to ease Israeli hostility and show goodwill to US President Donald Trump, three sources told Reuters.
Israel announced its recovery of the trove of documents, photographs, and personal possessions relating to Cohen on Sunday, saying its spy agency Mossad had worked with an unnamed foreign intelligence agency to secure the material.
However, a Syrian security source, an adviser to Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa, and a person familiar with backchannel talks between the countries said the archive of material was in fact offered to Israel as an indirect gesture by Sharaa as he seeks to cool tensions and build Trump’s confidence.
Cohen, who was hanged in 1965 in a downtown Damascus square after infiltrating Syria’s political elite, is still regarded as a hero in Israel and Mossad’s most celebrated spy for uncovering military secrets that aided its lightning victory in the 1967 Middle East war.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu described Cohen on Sunday as a legend and “the greatest intelligence agent in the annals of the state.”
While Israel has long sought to recover his body for reburial at home, the return of his archive held for 60 years by Syrian intelligence was hailed by Mossad as “an achievement of the highest moral order.”
Israel has not publicly revealed how the archive came into its possession, saying only that it was the result of “a covert and complex Mossad operation, in cooperation with an allied foreign intelligence service.”
Netanyahu’s office, Syrian officials, and the White House did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Syria’s role in Israel‘s recovery of the Cohen archive.
COHEN DOSSIER
After rebels led by Sharaa suddenly ousted President Bashar al-Assad in December, ending his family’s 54-year-long rule, they found the Cohen dossier in a state security building, according to the Syrian security source.
Sharaa and his foreign advisers quickly decided to use the material as leverage, the source added.
The Syrian security source said Sharaa had realized that the Cohen archive was important to the Israelis and that its return could amount to a significant diplomatic gesture.
Ending Israeli attacks on Syria and improving relations with the United States and other Western countries are vital for Sharaa as he seeks to revive his shattered country after 14 years of civil war.
Israel regards Sharaa and his ex-insurgents, who once formed the al Qaeda faction in Syria, as unreconstructed jihadists. Israeli forces staged an incursion into border areas last year and have repeatedly bombed targets in support of Syria’s minority Druze sect.
This month, Reuters reported that the United Arab Emirates had set up a backchannel for talks between Israel and Syria that included efforts to build confidence between the sides.
There have also been other indirect channels for talks, according to two people familiar with the matter.
In the talks, Syria agreed to measures including returning the remains of Cohen as well as three Israeli soldiers killed while fighting Syrian forces in Lebanon in the early 1980s, a person familiar with those talks said. The body of one of those soldiers, Zvi Feldman, has been returned, Israel said last week.
The return of the Cohen archive came in the context of those confidence-building measures and was done with Sharaa’s direct approval, the person said.
Last week, Trump held a surprise meeting with Sharaa in Saudi Arabia where he urged him to normalize ties with Israel and announced that he would lift sanctions on Syria.
Syrian officials have said they want peace with all states in the region, and Sharaa confirmed this month that Damascus had carried out indirect talks with Israel via states it has ties with in order to calm the situation.
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