The One Question the West Never Asks Gazans
In the eyes of the Western left, Palestinians are no longer real people with agency
The Question Nobody Asks
Why does the West refuse to ask the people of Gaza what they want? More specifically, why does nobody ask them if they want to leave?
The reason is simple. In the eyes of the Western left, Palestinians are no longer real people with agency. They are props. Symbols of oppression. Vessels for outrage. They exist so privileged activists can posture as defenders of “justice” without ever doing anything that would actually help. They exist so politicians can score points for “empathy” without offering solutions.
Whether Gazans want to keep living under Hamas or whether they want to leave and rebuild their lives somewhere else, none of it matters. Their “allies” don’t care. If they did, they would advocate for real choices instead of screaming “ethnic cleansing” at the mere suggestion of relocation.
The Refugee Double Standard
This is not how refugees are treated anywhere else. Syrians fled their war and found refuge across the globe. Ukrainians fled Russia’s invasion and were welcomed in Europe. Sudanese fled massacres and were resettled in safety. Nobody accused them of betraying their homeland. Nobody called their escape “genocide.”
But Palestinians are the exception. They are expected to remain trapped forever in rubble and poverty because their suffering has become sacred to activists who rely on it.
Why Their Suffering Must Be Preserved
If Palestinians are allowed to leave, the entire narrative collapses. The idea of a “prison camp” or “open-air genocide” falls apart once you admit Palestinians could be freed from Hamas’ grip. The whole script of “apartheid” and “occupation” crumbles if Gazans are seen not as hostages of Israel, but as hostages of Hamas.
That is why the question is never asked. What if Gazans want to leave? What if they don’t want to live under Hamas, in bombed-out neighborhoods with no future? What if they want the same chance every other refugee gets to escape and rebuild?
Western activists and politicians cannot allow that thought. Their entire outrage machine depends on Gazans staying put, miserable and broken.
Hypocrisy in Action
So the same people who call Gaza a “mass grave” also insist its people must never leave. The same activists who call it a “prison” demand the prisoners stay locked inside. And they ignore the role of Arab states, which could easily accept Palestinians but refuse to do so.
Meanwhile, the people of Gaza are denied even the dignity of choice.
Responsibility and Reality
None of this excuses Palestinian responsibility. Many voted for Hamas. Even more celebrated October 7. According to recent polling, a surprisingly large number don’t even want this war to end. But it is still hypocrisy of the highest order to deny them the same escape routes offered to every other war-torn population.
Gazans are not being offered death marches. They are being denied exits. Their so-called defenders would rather keep them caged than see them live free, because without their misery the entire political project collapses.
And let’s not forget why Gaza looks like rubble in the first place. None of this destruction would exist if Hamas hadn’t launched a massacre and embedded itself inside hospitals, schools, and homes. Every death, every collapsed building, every ruined street is the direct consequence of Hamas’ war.
The Younger Generation
It is true that many in Gaza hate Jews. I have no illusions about that. But hatred doesn’t mean they want to keep living under Hamas.
A recent Gallup poll showed that over half of Gazans would consider leaving, at least temporarily.
Before October 7, many young Gazans were TikTokers, YouTubers, and online creators. They saw the world outside and know what they’re missing. They are not as invested in their grandparents’ endless cycle of revenge. Many recognize, even if quietly, that 80 years of “resistance” have led nowhere.
Whether they hate Jews is irrelevant to the question of whether they should be allowed to leave. Nobody is asking for them to be resettled in the West. There are plenty of other countries where they could go if Arab states would allow it.
A Jewish Contrast
History makes the contrast clear. For thousands of years, Jews were expelled from country after country. Spain, Poland, Iraq, Egypt. Hundreds of times entire Jewish communities were uprooted. And never once did Jews abandon their own. From exile to exile, Jews welcomed their fellow refugees. Life itself was always more valuable than land or property.
Now look at the Arab world. Palestinians are barred from citizenship, blocked from professions, and treated as permanent refugees in Lebanon, Jordan, and beyond. Even when they escape Gaza, Arab countries slam the door.
The difference could not be starker. Jews build homes for their own. Arab leaders keep Palestinians in chains.
The Accusation of “Ethnic Cleansing”
And yet Israel is the one accused of “ethnic cleansing.” By UN definition, every Palestinian in Gaza is already a “refugee.” How can you be ethnically cleansed from a refugee camp? At worst, relocation means moving from one camp to another.
So their defenders pivot again and call Gaza an “ancestral homeland.” But if that’s true, why does UNRWA exist? Why the “right of return”? Return to where? If Gaza is home, then what exactly are they returning to?
The Truth No One Will Say
The truth is Arab leaders don’t care about Palestinians. They never have. Their misery is intentional. It is policy.
Billions flow into UNRWA to keep the cycle alive. Arab governments strip Palestinians of rights and citizenship, yet the world blames Israel. The only country in the region where Palestinians have full rights is Israel itself.
The hypocrisy is staggering. Jews have shown the world what it means to care for their own. Arab leaders have shown the world how to exploit their own for generations.
The Reality
The so-called “ethnic cleansing” isn’t happening in Gaza. It is happening in every Arab city where Palestinians are barred from living normal lives.
It is time to stop pretending this is Israel’s fault. And it is time to admit what the West refuses to. If they truly cared about the people in Gaza they would give them the same rights as any other refugee to choose life over death, freedom over rubble, and a future over perpetual misery.