As much as Palestinian apologists bemoan Israel’s supposed “oppression” of the Arab population living in the Gaza Strip, the truth is that nobody wants them. With Hamas terrorists running the show in Gaza, it’s effectively a situation of the inmates running their own prison. Palestinians are suffering in Gaza primarily because of Hamas, not Israel.

So, with this latest war between Israel and Hamas, Palestinians will once again be the biggest losers. Israel is on the cusp of launching a massive ground assault through which Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vows to eradicate Hamas once and for all. Yet the Islamic Middle Eastern nations that feign concern for the Palestinians are absolutely unwilling to accept them as refugees.

Egypt could open its border with Gaza to let the million or so fleeing refugees in, but it won’t. This works in Hamas’s favor, as its jihadists use civilians as human shields to protect themselves from Israel’s military assault, banking on a high civilian casualty count to win sympathy from the rest of the world that has been duped into overlooking its genetical anti-Semitic credo.

At least one European official sees clearly through Hamas’s gambit. German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock insightfully observed: “Hamas brings nothing but suffering and death to the people — in Israel and in Gaza. It is Hamas’s perfidious strategy to use the civilian population as a human shield. Terrorism’s cynical plan must not be allowed to take hold. Civilians need safe spaces where they can find protection and have their essential needs met.”

But as noted above, Egypt won’t provide that “safe space.” So, is Egypt the bad guy here? Or Jordan? Or Saudi Arabia?

What these Middle Eastern nations know is that accepting a massive influx of refugees is no small matter, as it can create politically and economically destabilizing events. And there is no guarantee that Hamas terrorists won’t slip in with the Palestinian refugees.

Most of the cultural instability that has been rankling Europe is tied directly to its open-border embrace of massive numbers of migrants. This was on full display in major European cities, and even in the U.S., where groups of foreigners celebrated Hamas’s murderous attack.

Like Europe, Joe Biden’s de facto open-border policy threatens and undermines America. As millions of illegal aliens have entered the U.S. on Biden’s watch, among them are an unknown number of Islamists from the Middle East. More than 600 suspected terrorists were apprehended. We don’t know how many weren’t. Obviously, jihadi terrorists see the open U.S. southern border as a prime means of gaining entry and establishing terror cells within America.

Nevertheless, many Democrats insist that we open our borders further. “The international community as well as the United States should be prepared to welcome refugees from Palestine while being very careful to vet and not allow members of Hamas,” declared New York Democrat Congressman Jamaal “Fire Alarm” Bowman.

Florida governor and Republican presidential candidate Ron DeSantis recognizes this as a problem. “I don’t know what Biden’s gonna do, but we cannot accept people from Gaza into this country as refugees,” he argued. “I am not going to do that. If you look at how they behave, not all of them are Hamas, but they are all anti-Semitic. None of them believe in Israel’s right to exist.”

DeSantis’s message is clear. The basic standard for anyone seeking to enter the U.S. is that if you object to our value system, if you object to our nation, then you should not be allowed in, period.

“We’ve got some serious problems in this country,” DeSantis added. “We’ve allowed a lot of these problems to fester. But my view is very simple: If you don’t like this country, if you hate America, you should not come to this country. We’ve got to start being smart about this.” Exactly.

Love of country demands that one priorities the protection of country over all others. If refugees hate our country, they should not be brought in because all they will do is seek to destroy the U.S., not seek to build up the country. Exhibit A is Jamaal’s “Squad” pal, Minnesota Democrat Representative Ilhan Omar, who continuously voices anti-American views and preaches false narratives about our founding and our history.

As that old expression goes, good fences make good neighbors. In other words, the respecting of others’ boundaries and property is key to respecting each other. Those who seek to undermine the boundaries don’t have their neighbors’ best interests at heart.