Amjad Taha: On my flight from Abu Dhabi to Tel Aviv, I sat next to an Indian man who told me this was his third month working in Israel near the Gaza area.
He shared his belief that Israel will no longer issue work permits to Gazans and will replace them with Indian workers.
He seemed genuinely happy to work in Israel, speaking throughout the flight about how friendly and welcoming Israelis are and how content he is living there.
One of the most devastating consequences of Hamas’s actions on October 7 is the betrayal of trust.
Hamas used Gazans who worked in kibbutzim with some of the most pacifist Israelis—those who believed in a Palestinian state—to spy on them and hand over maps of their locations. This is how Hamas knew exactly how many people lived in each house on October 7.
Even after this war ends, it’s unlikely that Gazans will regain the opportunity to work in Israel. My Indian seatmate mentioned that hundreds of Indians are now employed in Israel and that Israel no longer trusts Gazans—a sentiment that, given the circumstances, is hard to fault.
Was October 7 worth it? Murder, treason, and disloyalty—a catastrophic combination born from a failed ideology that absolutely does not deserve a state.