Will The World Let the Palestinians Vote With Their Feet?

BBC Arabic Reveals Palestinian Hopes

When the Vietnamese Communists defeated the French in Indochina and took over northern Vietnam, millions of Vietnamese fled to the South.

At the time, it was said that the Vietnamese who walked to the non-communist southern part of Vietnam “voted with their feet.”

Voting with their feet. Natural migrations of people have occurred throughout history. And will the world allow the Palestinian people vote with their feet?

Now, we may be seeing the early signs that the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip actually daring to speak out and telling Western reporters they want to leave Hamas’ open-air prison and live in peace and freedom.

If the early movement we are seeing in Gaza is real, this can bolster President Trump’s proposal to empty the war-torn strip and rebuild it with international funds.

Of course, many Arab nations, the European Union and the United Nations have denounced the idea that Palestinians should leave Gaza. A number of Arab leaders — but not all — refused at a recent “summit” to permit any voluntary resettlement of Palestinians from war-torn Gaza.

The truth on the ground in Gaza, however, can’t be suppressed forever. It turns out that the BBC, of all news outlets, may now have decided to finally provide real world reporting from the enclave proving that many Palestinians want to flee the iron hand of Hamas and live in freedom.

But the BBC didn’t air these revelatory interviews on the widely broadcast English-language BBC. They only made it available on BBC Arabic for Arabic-only listeners. We know about these interviews because the Arabic language interviews were reported by the Jerusalem Post.

BBC Arabic quoted “Alaa” (not her real name) from the Strip, telling its reporter, “I can't stand it anymore, especially now that the war is back. Our lives are threatened every day. I want to leave Gaza."

Another Palestinian quoted by BBC Arabic named, “Ola,” a woman living in Jabalya told the British news network that most Gazans wanted to leave the enclave citing "the lack of a decent life. There are no suitable places to live, no good food, no job opportunities. Everything is missing, even the most basic necessities of life."

Ola said those most likely to leave were young Palestinians. “The youth's chances of leaving Gaza may be through scholarships, but job opportunities are difficult, and some may turn to illegal immigration if they can."

Another Palestinian, named “Mahdi” told BBC Arabic that he was able to leave his home in Rafah with his daughter for medical treatment in Egypt. "I don't intend to return to Gaza unless I am forced to do so," he told the British news agency.

“They say we fled Gaza, but the truth is different,” said Mahdi. “We didn’t flee, and we didn’t choose to live in suffering. Do you want us to die under the rubble and become nothing but remains? Do you like seeing us dead and torn apart? No, that’s not our goal.”

“We’re not traitors if we want to leave. Every one of us has the capacity to endure, and many of us can’t bear it anymore,” Mahdi said.

“Hadeel,” who relocated to Jordan but whose husband was returned to Gaza by Egyptian authorities told BBC Arabic, "There are many people in Gaza who wish to travel to European countries like Belgium, Germany, and Greece, but the blockade, closure, and exorbitant costs of travel are what prevent them,” She added that she supported those who decide to stay in the Strip.

Who would eventually govern Gaza, who would pay for rebuilding the Strip, and would the Palestinians be able to leave the Gaza Strip?

These key questions were muddled at an Arab Summit held in Cairo on March 4, although like other “summits,” it was highly acclaimed by a number of Arab leaders. Egyptian officials want to sidestep the issue of Hamas in the Strip. But revealingly, they don’t want any Palestinians to live in Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula or in Egypt itself. Even though Egypt proclaims “solidarity” with the Palestinian people, they forbid them from flee to their country.

And importantly, two of the most important parties to finance the rebuilding and reconstruction of the Strip were completely absent from the “Summit” – the royal leaders of Saudi Arabia and the UAE.

“Notably, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and United Arab Emirates President Mohamed bin Zayed were absent from the Cairo summit, signaling dissatisfaction with Egypt’s approach,” reported Media Line,

Importantly, Israel Behind the News reported that — of course — the Arab foreign ministers avoided the key issue of the future of Hamas in Gaza.

“The summit—meaning Egypt—did not address Hamas’s fate whatsoever. This was the root of disagreements among Arab states during the summit and its preparations. These disagreements remain unresolved, which means Gaza reconstruction will remain on paper and not be implemented, as it will be impossible to raise the billions necessary for reconstruction while Arab nations have not reconciled their differences,” concluded Israel Behind the News.

The news organization also observed, “Hence, the difference between Saudi Arabia and Egypt is the degree of determination to remove Hamas. Saudi Arabia demands its removal, while Egypt wants to maneuver between it and the Palestinian Authority.

“Qatar wants to maintain Hamas, and [Palestinian Authority leader Mahmoud] Abbas wants to take over Gaza as part of implementing the Palestinian state, rejecting Egypt’s position that the PA and Hamas should agree on a technocratic committee to manage Gaza,” IBN reported.

In a 2024 public opinion survey by the Al Habtoor Research Center in the West Bank, Abbas hit an all time low of 29% approval with 59% of Palestinians disapproving of him. The title of their polling results was, “The New Frontier: West Bank is the New Gaza.”

As usual, the Arab Summit punted all of the key issues about Gaza. But that means it leaves the Palestinians as open-air prisoners in the Gaza Strip. In the end, who will liberate them?

Will the world let the Palestinians vote with their feet?