Weekly Commentary: Can Israel Leverage Rafah Evacuation Centers Photo Op to
Overcome Objections to Defeating Hamas?
Dr. Aaron Lerner, 19 March 2024

The footprints of the evacuation centers Israel will set up for the over one
million civilians now in Rafah will be huge.

News agencies will have their own satellite photos of the centers, and the
sky is the limit regarding the "products" which the IDF will be able to
provide for the media and the world, showing the facilities Israel has
prepared for Gazans who choose to "walk to life" rather than remain in Rafah
as human shields for Hamas.

I wouldn't be surprised if there are tours of the facilities for the media
and others immediately before the citizens in Rafah are given their
evacuation instructions.

I have no illusions:

There are Democrats who will object in principle that civilians in Rafah
should have to evacuate to safety, arguing that Israel should either give up
or magically carry out its operations against Hamas in Rafah in the presence
of over a million human shields without injuring the civilian shields.

Others will term the square meters per evacuee or toilets per evacuee in the
evacuation centers as nothing less than "genocide".

It's hard to know if President Biden opts to pivot and take credit for the
evacuation arrangements or wags his finger to the very end for the Dearborn
vote.

One thing is certain: Civilians in Rafah will know, beyond a shadow of a
doubt, that safety and survival is literally a short walk away.

To be clear: The challenge today is not to find a compromise with the Biden
team over the defeat of Hamas. It is to defeat Hamas while arranging for
evacuation centers which the Israeli public and Israel's friends around the
world are proud of.

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Arab-Israeli relations

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