The fantasy of Gazans boarding trains of no return
When the fantasy dissipates and Trump forgets about it, we [Israelis] will discover that we are still in Gaza, the Palestinians are still in Gaza, our abductees are still in Gaza, and our soldiers continue to be killed in Gaza. Trump will go to play golf on the big golf course in the sky and the Golani and Nahal fighters will continue to eat ‘khara’ [shit] in Jabaliya and Khan Yunis
By Moran Sharir • Translated by Sol Salbe
Welcome to the Hangover
After a day of ecstasy, intoxication, double and triple orgasms (“It’s like a dream!!!”), Israel is still trying to digest the great gift that fell upon it: Gaza without Gazans. It’s amazing how a country that has experienced being forsaken, a massacre, destruction and national mourning, goes from despair to euphoria so quickly — all thanks to a single statement by the president of the United States.
Yesterday the people celebrated. Not just the Death Eaters cult. An overwhelming majority of Israelis — even moderates and Centre-Left voters — would be happy to see Gaza emptied of its residents. This is a fact. Today, the Israeli government has formally joined the celebration. The prime minister adopted the idea, and the defence minister issued a media release that he had “instructed the IDF” to prepare for a large exodus from Gaza. By the way, it is clear that Israel Katz’s main role as defence minister is to issue media releases in which he reports to the public that he “instructed the IDF” to do all sorts of things. The man is a waste of skin.
The opposition leaders, on the whole, also took a bite of the transfer bait and welcomed it with varying degrees of enthusiasm. Benny Gantz, who has not yet seen a political grenade that he has not jumped upon, announced that “Israel can only gain” from the transfer. In the TV news studios, they analysed, interpreted, welcomed, celebrated, predicted and evaluated. All this instead of saying a simple sentence: This whole thing is a fantasy. It won’t happen. The president of the United States was hiccupping something. Let’s move on.
When the fantasy dissipates and Trump forgets about it, we will discover that we are still in Gaza, the Gazans are still in Gaza, our abductees are still in Gaza, and our soldiers continue to be killed in Gaza. Trump will go to play golf on the big golf course in the sky and the Golani and Nahal fighters will continue to eat khara [shit] in Jabaliya and Khan Yunis.
For the information of our friend Gantz: The person who “can only gain” from Trump’s whim is one Benjamin Netanyahu. He and the thousands of people whose livelihoods depend on him. Netanyahu is coming back from the United States, that’s what it looks like, without a diplomatic achievement, neither on the Iranian front nor on the Saudi front, but with a great political achievement. And that’s what’s important to him. Trump has set up an election campaign for him, an agenda to run for, a catchy slogan. The man who was identified with the nightmare of burnt kibbutzim in the western Negev will now be identified with the fantasy of Gazans getting on trains to nowhere.
The idea of transfer is dangerous because, like any idea, as soon as it is put into words, it exists. The words of the president of the United States have a lot of power. Not the power to remove Palestinians from Gaza, but the power to bring an idea into the public discourse. From now on, the transfer is part of the discussion, it will be part of the elections, it is part of the Right’s agenda. From now on, serious politicians will have to respond to it, and if they object, they will be labelled as “Arab lovers.” The US president’s utterance cannot be returned to his throat. It exists and will always be there as an option. As a dream or as a threat. Once the option exists, it can also be turned on us. If there is a possibility of expelling 2 million Palestinians, then really why not expel 8 million Jews who are stuck like a fishbone in the throat of tens of millions of Arabs?
