Comment by hackyhacky
2 years ago
I agree with you that they have reason to believe that accepting refugees would play into Israel's hands. However, that fact alone is telling: they consider it more important to hurt Israel than to help Palestinians. If Arab nations actually care about Palestinian life as much as they say they do, they would prevent Palestinians from dying.
By way of contrast: Poland took over 1.5 million Ukrainian refugees, despite the fact that most probably won't go back to Ukraine, and that depopulating eastern Ukraine helps Russia.
It’s actually 4 millions: https://www.worldbank.org/en/programs/private-sector-for-ref...
They say they wouldn't be helping the Palestinians, creating yet more permanent refugees and the loss of their land. However, I will say that it's hard to say that the foreign government's choices should outweigh the self-determination of the Palestinians who could actually choose whetehr to leave or stay.
I don't think they care nearly as much as they say they do. I think Hamas doubts it too; one reason for the attack was to stop Arab reconciliation with Israel that may have left Palestinians in the cold.
The idea that they would care seems like a bit of prejudice - Americans and Europeans don't care about every refugee either, no matter where they're from or what they've done, especially these days.
If Polish utmost priority was saving as many Ukrainian lives as possible, they would block the supply of weapons and ammunition to Ukraine and pressure it to surrender. It doesn't seem to me that Polish (Western) intentions are purely humanitarian, but there's also a sense of justice at play (plus geopolitics).
The Ukrainians disagree; I'll trust their opinions about their own lives and country, Colonel.
Because Ukrainians don't have exclusively humanitarian interests, either.
My point is that using this argument for the Palestinian issue is intellectually dishonest.