The leak of a joint US–Israeli document proposing to transform Gaza into a tourist and economic “Riviera” under American oversight — after completely displacing its population — has sparked outrage. The plan has been described as a “mad attempt to give an investment gloss to a crime of ethnic cleansing.”
According to the document, revealed by The Washington Post and republished by The Guardian, the proposal suggests the “temporary resettlement” of two million Palestinians outside Gaza, compensating them with “digital tokens” in exchange for their land. In their place, Gaza would be redesigned into smart cities and luxury resorts, funded by investments estimated at $100 billion.
What appears as an “exceptional project” is in reality an extension of a long trajectory: from Benjamin Netanyahu’s promotion of “economic peace” in the 1990s, to Donald Trump’s so-called “Deal of the Century” in 2020, and now a bolder version in 2025: “Gaza Riviera.”
From the “Deal of the Century” to the “Riviera”
At its core, the new proposal rests on the same old equation: economics in place of rights.
- The “Deal of the Century” sought to improve living conditions in exchange for abandoning fundamental issues like Jerusalem and the right of return.
- The “Riviera” project goes even further: not economic improvement, but full-scale expulsion, repackaged as real estate and technological investment.
When Netanyahu first spoke of “economic peace” in the mid-1990s, it seemed like a way to bypass stalled negotiations by encouraging development. Over time, this morphed into a tool to entrench realities on the ground: expanding settlements, suffocating Palestinian mobility, and conditioning aid so that rights became “gifts” from donors.
Today, the “Riviera” plan makes clear that the goal is no longer to “manage the conflict” or “contain it,” but to end it decisively in Israel’s favor — by removing Palestinians from the map both geographically and demographically.
The document speaks of “smart cities,” “modern ports,” and “Musk-style industrial zones,” but its essence — as Swiss human rights advocate Philippe Grant described — is “a plan for mass deportation marketed as development.”
Instead of addressing the ongoing Israeli siege since 2007 or the recent war crimes that killed tens of thousands, the plan proposes something chillingly simple: remove the people, and build an investment project on their ruins.
A Shared US–Israeli Vision
The leaked plan underscores the convergence of American and Israeli positions on Gaza:
- No Palestinian sovereignty.
- No Palestinian state.
- Only a functional entity, tethered to the Abraham Accords framework.
It echoes the words of Trump and his son-in-law Jared Kushner when marketing the “Deal of the Century”: “Economics can buy peace.” The difference in 2025 is stark: it’s no longer about buying off Palestinians, but about forcing them out entirely.
“Gaza Is Not for Sale”
Palestinian rejection was swift. Basem Naim, a senior Hamas official, affirmed:
“Gaza is part of the greater Palestinian homeland. Any attempt to give up the Strip will be met with rejection and resistance.”
The more dangerous element, however, lies in the political function of such plans. Even if never implemented in full, they serve as trial balloons to gauge international reactions. In a world distracted by multiple crises, such proposals could gradually creep into reality through relentless pressure on Gaza’s residents, pushing them toward so-called “voluntary departure.”
The “Gaza Riviera” plan reveals what has been consistent in US–Israeli agendas since the 1990s:
- No Palestinian state.
- No sovereignty.
- An exchange of national rights for empty promises of development.
The only new factor is the removal of the economic sugarcoating. What remains is blunt: deportation in exchange for investment.
This makes the leaked document more than just a “crazy plan.” It signals an open attempt to liquidate the Palestinian cause under the deceptive banner of Gaza’s “reconstruction.”
