Why don’t the Palestinians just leave?

Short: Palestinians cannot simply leave Palestine as it’s their homeland and deeply tied to their historic, ethnic, and cultural identity. They also have a legal right to live, work, create, farm and enjoy the land. Leaving is not a practical solution, nor is it fair to suggest to people who are facing violent displacement from their own homes. But this is especially so when all would-be exit points are sealed off by Israel. They quite literally have nowhere to go. Attempts for civilians to flee towards Egypt are met with attacks from the IDF, making escape impossible and just as dangerous as staying put. Expecting Palestinians to flee to other countries also overlooks the burden placed on neighbouring countries, like Lebanon, which is economically strained and already hosting large refugee populations. It also assumes that all Arabs are the same, and will easily assimilate to other areas in the Middle East, ignoring the differences in dialect, culture and more that pose even more challenges for both the Palestinians and the people of the host nations. Palestinians have a right to live in their homeland with dignity and respect and also have a deeply vital connection to their land that sustains their communities, culture, and means of survival. Suggesting they up and leave is inhumane and something we would never ask of ourselves in the same circumstances. Palestinians aren’t asking for anything more than me or you would in the same situation, and I know you can understand why they have a right to have those needs met.

Long: Palestinians can't simply leave Palestine because it's their homeland. Palestinians are indigenous to Palestine, a land where they have historic, ethnic and cultural ties, as well as a legal right to inhabit. Palestinians have lived in Palestine for hundreds of years, and their connection to the land is an essential part of their identity. Leaving is also not a practical or just solution for people at the mercy of violent displacement and occupation. It also ignores the fact that there are currently no ways to exit Palestine, as all exit points have been sealed off, particularly the one leading to Egypt where Israel is currently trying to herd the Palestinians. Not only are Palestinians physically unable to leave, but the ‘safe’ corridors created to force them closer to the Egyptian border are patrolled and bombed by the IDF, and hundreds of Palestinians are being killed as they attempt to ‘flee’. Similarly, the neighbouring countries such as Lebanon, are unfairly expected to take on hundreds of thousands more refugees, despite facing near-economic collapse, and also already hosting millions of Palestinian and Syrian refugees in overflowing refugee camps. It also assumes that all Arabs are the same, and will easily assimilate to other areas in the Middle East, ignoring the differences in dialect, culture and more that pose even more challenges for both the Palestinians and the people of the host nations.

Expecting Palestinians to leave their homeland is an expectation that needs to be challenged. To put yourself in their shoes, it would be wholly unreasonable to expect that you should leave your belongings, family, pets and life behind to submit to an oppressive regime. You also wouldn’t ask Indigenous Australians to up and leave, and make other countries foot the bill of their displacement. Asking Palestinians to leave is an ethnic cleansing. Palestinians aspire to and have the right to live in their homeland with their rights and dignity respected, just like people in any other part of the world. Palestinians are also historically a farming society, with 65% of Palestinians being farmers or from farming families. Palestinian communities rely directly on their land for material sustenance. Without it, they would lose their communities, culture and their means for survival. Israel is acutely aware of this, and this is partly why Zionist settlers uproot Palestinians' olive trees and other crops as a means to erase their identity and belonging. Suggesting they up and leave is inhumane and something we would never ask of ourselves in the same circumstances. Palestinians aren’t asking for anything more than me or you would be in the same situation, and I know you can understand why they have a right to have those needs met.

Sources:

@letstalkpalestine

This answer is taken from the document Palestine: in Conversation Document.