Israel's Evacuation Order Is a Prelude to Disaster

The displacement of more than a million people in the middle of what is already a dire humanitarian crisis would be a massive crime in itself.

The Israeli government is demanding that Palestinian civilians evacuate Gaza city. The U.N. and humanitarian agencies say that this is an impossible demand, and some say it is also unlawful:

The Norwegian Refugee Council, an international aid agency operating in the territory, said the evacuation order, which came without clear guarantees of safety and return, “would amount to the war crime of forcible transfer.”

Nancy Okail, president of the Washington-based Center for International Policy, described the evacuation order as not only impossible, but “a license to kill. Because those who remain behind, it would be sort of a warranty to kill those who stay.”

There is no way that a million people can safely evacuate their homes under current conditions. As Jan Egeland of the NRC said in the group’s statement, “My colleagues inside Gaza confirm that there are countless people in the northern parts who have no means to safely relocate under the constant barrage of fire.” Even if they managed to do this, where would they go and how would they survive once they left? There is nowhere for these people to go. The displacement of more than a million people in the middle of what is already a dire humanitarian crisis would be a massive crime in itself. That is to say nothing of the collective punishment already being meted out to the entire population by cutting off access to supplies of food, water, fuel, and power.

The U.N. is warning of “devastating humanitarian consequences” if the order is not rescinded. Human Rights Watch says, “The roads are rubble, fuel is scarce, and the main hospital is in the evacuation zone.” Jeremy Konyndyk, president of Refugees International, said, “This is a logistical impossibility. It would not be lawful for the UN to do this. Israel asking the UN to do this does not magically make what follows not-a-war-crime. US needs to urgently intervene here.”

Presumably the Israeli government understands that it is making an impossible demand of the Palestinians of Gaza. It is likely doing this just so that it can say later that it gave them a little advance warning before further laying waste to their city and killing civilians in large numbers. As Derek Davison of

Foreign Exchanges

put it, “Evacuating over 1 million people in 24 hours is an impossibility, which makes this less a warning than a before the fact justification for a massacre.” Peter Beinart comments, “This is a monstrous crime. It's happening in plain view, with US support.”

Responding to an atrocity does not give any government license to do the things that the Israeli government is already doing. This is just the beginning of a disastrous and excessive campaign that could cause tens and possibly hundreds of thousands of civilian deaths. We are seeing a terrible crime unfolding before our eyes, and our government is shamefully complicit in it.