The Call for Hamas to Leave Gaza: The Beginning of Relief or the Onset of Catastrophe?

In recent days, social media platforms have witnessed an organised surge in posts—coinciding with small-scale demonstrations in the Gaza Strip—calling for Hamas and the Palestinian resistance to withdraw from Gaza. These calls are being made under the pretext of ending the Israeli aggression, lifting the blockade, restoring calm, and beginning reconstruction. Yet, behind these seemingly neutral demands lies a dangerous narrative—one that subtly absolves the Israeli occupation of the genocide and humanitarian disaster it deliberately orchestrated, as admitted by its own officials.

Arabic Voice or Israeli Tongue?

This media campaign—calling for the removal of Hamas and resistance forces—has emerged in Arabic, from both inside and outside Palestine, but strikingly aligns with Israeli propaganda. It mirrors rhetoric from Israeli officials like Defense Minister Yisrael Katz, and echoes voices like Avichay Adraee, the Arabic-speaking spokesperson for the Israeli army, who posted on X:

“Out, out—Hamas must go out!”

Labeling the resistance as “terrorist,” his call was echoed by figures such as Edy Cohen, who urged Gazans to “rise up against Hamas terror… Protest in every street, every neighbourhood, every corner of Gaza. Let them hear your voice… Your presence in the streets is the true response to genocide.”

The Israeli army even dropped leaflets over Gaza, urging civilians to turn against the resistance. Such psychological warfare is not new—but its alignment with Arabic voices raises troubling questions about co-opted narratives and internalised occupation rhetoric.

Ethnic Cleansing Disguised as ‘Peace’

For years, Washington, Tel Aviv, and leading U.S. and Israeli figures—especially former President Donald Trump—have viewed forced displacement as the “ideal solution” to what they themselves have caused in Gaza. But this proposal has been widely rejected by Palestinians, Arabs, and much of the international community, curbing its full implementation—at least temporarily.

Yet the danger lies in how some are now pushing for another catastrophe under the illusion of ending the current one. Suggesting that the removal of resistance will bring peace is a false premise that ignores history and emboldens the occupation’s plans.

It may appear, on the surface, that if Hamas exits Gaza, it could end the humanitarian crisis. But this view disconnects the catastrophe from its root cause—the Israeli occupation—and opens the door to far graver consequences.

Dangerous Assumptions: Israel Needs No Excuse to Kill

One common argument is that if Palestinians remove the “pretext,” Israel will cease its aggression. Yet history proves this is dangerously naïve.

• • When Israel was established on historic Palestinian land, it did not need an excuse.

• • Palestinians did not harm Jews or cause the Nazi Holocaust—yet two-thirds of the population were displaced, and over 500 towns and villages were erased, as part of a colonial, ideological project aimed at erasing Palestinian memory and identity.

• • Today, settlement expansion in the West Bank continues unabated—without any justification other than the Zionist belief in a theological right to the land they call “Judea and Samaria.”

Similarly, Israel continues to strike Syria, occupying land south of Damascus and openly expressing ambitions of territorial expansion. Ministers like Bezalel Smotrich and Shlomo Karhi have declared that the borders of Jerusalem extend to Damascus, confirming the ideological framework behind these actions.

This vision is consistent with Trump’s plan for Gaza: to empty it of its people and turn it into an economic venture—“The Middle East Riviera.” Trump once remarked that “Israel is too small on the map,” hinting at broader expansionist intentions.

Disarming Resistance Is a Strategic Mistake

Accepting the logic of “removing the pretext” means accepting the occupier’s terms in the hope of safety—an illusion that has historically led only to greater loss, humiliation, and permanent occupation.

This logic strips Palestinians of their sources of strength, and betrays the dream of return, liberation, and independence.

The Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) spent 35 years negotiating, removing pretexts, and pleading with the international community. As President Mahmoud Abbas famously declared at the UN:

“Protect us.”

But this led only to catastrophe.

• • The Oslo Accords collapsed.

• • The Palestinian Authority (PA) became a civilian administrative body under occupation.

• • It now works in security coordination with the occupier, suppressing resistance in exchange for foreign financial aid, without any real national identity or sovereignty.

Calling for Hamas to exit Gaza today only encourages Netanyahu to double down on military aggression and stall ceasefire negotiations. Why compromise, when some Palestinians are already blaming the resistance and demanding its departure—exactly what Israel wants?

Removing Hamas Enables Ethnic Cleansing

The withdrawal of Hamas and the resistance would directly serve Israel’s colonisation agenda—especially its efforts to depopulate Gaza.

Supported by Trump’s administration, Israel recently approved a special department in its Defence Ministry tasked with managing Palestinian expulsion. Without resistance, this plan would be far easier to implement.

For over a year and a half, Israel failed to ethnically cleanse Gaza due to Palestinian resilience and the strength of the resistance. Removing that barrier could finally allow the mass displacement of civilians, fulfilling a long-term Zionist goal.

A History of Betrayals and Bloodshed

Palestinian experience confirms a bitter truth: the Israeli occupation does not honour agreements, nor does it respect international law.

• • The Oslo experience proved this, with a Palestinian proto-state turned into a helpless administrative body.

• • The 2018 Jewish Nation-State Law, passed by Israel’s Knesset, denies non-Jews the right to self-determination and enshrines settlement as a national value—further ignoring the very agreements that Oslo was built upon.

Even before Oslo, in 1982, during Israel’s invasion of Lebanon and the siege of Beirut, voices rose demanding Yasser Arafat and the resistance leave to protect civilians. The U.S., UN, and Western powers promised safety for the camps.

Yet, within two weeks of Arafat’s departure, came the Sabra and Shatila massacre, where 3,000 Palestinians were butchered in horrific scenes, sparing neither children, women, nor the elderly.

That memory is a stark reminder: surrendering to occupation demands only leads to greater tragedy.

Resistance Is Costly — But Capitulation Is Fatal

No one denies the immense suffering in Gaza. The losses are staggering, the devastation unimaginable, and the grief beyond words.

But the Palestinian cause is a cause of existence, not a mere dispute. To give in is to be erased.

The battle is no longer about managing conflict; it is a battle for survival. The defeat begins when the will breaks, not when lives are lost. And in the history of liberation struggles, it is not weapons or wealth that define victory, but steadfastness, conviction, and sacrifice.

To demand that the resistance leaves its land is to pave the way for the final displacement of what remains of the Palestinian people.

Unity Is the Duty of the Hour

The occupation has resorted to these deceptive tactics only because it failed to defeat Gaza militarily. But even as Israel faces internal divisions—between secular liberals and religious extremists—and growing domestic fatigue over the war, Palestinians must remain united.

Now more than ever, steadfastness and resistance are the only viable path. It is the duty of every free person to stand firmly against occupation, to reject its colonial plans, and to preserve the Islamic and Christian sanctities of Palestine.

There is no honour in surrendering to an enemy who seeks not just land, but erasure. And there is no liberation without resistance.