Israeli politicians Danny Danon and Ram Ben-Barak say they believe Western governments should open their borders and welcome refugees fleeing the Israeli ground assault underway in Gaza. Writing in the Wall Street Journal, Danon and Ben-Barak – both lawmakers serving in Israel’s Knesset – argue European governments and the United States are ideal for taking in refugees since they have “a long history of assisting refugees fleeing conflicts.”
“Global organizations with experience settling refugees should facilitate the relocation of Gaza residents who wish to move to countries willing to accept them,” write Danon and Ben-Barak. “We simply need a handful of the world’s nations to share the responsibility of hosting Gazan residents. Even if countries took in as few as 10,000 people each, it would help alleviate the crisis.”
Israel has been left scrambling to figure out a solution to the looming refugee crisis in Gaza after neighboring Arab states declined take anymore Palestinians in. A month ago, Jordan’s King Abdullah II rejected the German Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s proposal for neighboring Arab states to take in new refugees, calling it a “red line” and adding: “There will be NO refugees in Jordan and there will be NO refugees in Egypt.” The influx of Palestinian refugees into Lebanon between 1948 and 1975 played a major role in pushing the country into a civil war which effectively ended the country’s Christian majority.
While a majority of Americans continue to support Israel’s military response to the brutal October 7th Hamas terrorist attack, Israeli politicians demanding the American government take in Palestinian refugees could change that. According to Gallup, 41 percent of Americans want the rate of legal immigration into the united states reduced from current levels. Just 26 percent want to see it increase.
Danon previously served as Israel’s representative to the United Nations.
