By unveiling the outlines of a future plan for the reconstruction of the Gaza Strip, Jared Kushner, son in law and adviser to former US president Donald Trump, completed the picture of what Gaza is intended to become under this vision. The conflict, in this framework, is to be brought to an end through economics and investment, by stripping the territory of its political and historical role and severing its connection to the homeland and its central causes. The plan was revealed during the launch of the so-called Peace Council on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos. Absent from the event was any reference to the fundamentals of the Palestinian cause or the rights of refugees. Instead, a new image of Gaza was presented, one that bears no resemblance to the territory or its people.
This vision portrays Gaza as a smart city with a tourism focused waterfront, featuring hundreds of towers and skyscrapers, alongside newly rebuilt residential clusters shaped by a real estate investment model for a people depicted as having neither identity nor history. There was no mention of a population still emerging from the aftermath of one of the worst genocides of the modern era. Palestinians were described merely as the poor who would become rich, while their land was labelled a promising investment destination, projected to generate an annual national income exceeding ten billion dollars.
The so called master plan for Gaza’s future extends to 2035 and, according to Kushner, aims to transform the Strip into a promising regional economic hub through a broad development programme that includes rebuilding infrastructure, housing, and creating major investment opportunities. He stated that more than twenty five billion dollars in investments would be injected over the next ten years, with an international conference scheduled to be held in Washington in the coming weeks to announce state and private sector contributions to the reconstruction effort.
The plan includes the construction of a new port and airport, as well as an integrated network of roads and railways linking Gaza’s cities. It also proposes redeveloping the coastline into a vast tourism zone containing around one hundred and eighty residential and commercial towers. Kushner noted that inland areas would be allocated for residential and industrial complexes covering approximately twenty five square kilometres, including data centres and production facilities. According to his presentation, the plan targets raising average annual income to more than thirteen thousand dollars.
The master plan, accompanied by detailed maps, is based on what he described as demolition followed by the construction of a new Gaza that could become a source of hope and a destination in its own right. Implementation is intended to occur in phases, beginning with housing the workforce and achieving full employment. Kushner asserted that there was no alternative plan, only one plan to which all parties were committed, and that building major cities within a few years was achievable if the political will existed. He concluded by calling for calm, stating, “Calm down for thirty days. Our goal is to achieve peace between Israel and the Palestinian people. Everyone wants to live in peace and dignity.”
When examining what is being proposed in theory, major problems quickly emerge, foremost among them the weapons of the resistance, in addition to Gaza’s social and tribal fabric, which is unlikely to accept easily the cultural alienation of the city and the stripping away of its spirit. Regarding weapons, the plan explicitly links reconstruction to complete disarmament. No area would be rebuilt until it is verified that all weapons have been removed. This means that reconstruction would begin in so called yellow line areas, specifically the city of Rafah, which is under the control of the occupation army, before progressing to other areas once weapons are confiscated.
According to the details, heavy weapons would be removed immediately prior to reconstruction, while light weapons would be collected gradually through a new Palestinian police force established after a security vetting process involving Israel and the United States. Several scenarios are proposed in this context, including amnesty, reintegration, or providing safe passage for some leaders of Hamas, while others could be integrated into the new police force following strict security screening. After the completion of disarmament, Israeli forces are expected to withdraw to a security perimeter around the Strip.
In this context, the Hebrew language channel i24NEWS reported the existence of emerging understandings between the United States and Hamas regarding disarmament. These alleged understandings distinguish between heavy and light weapons, with some light arms remaining in the movement’s possession, and may include the handover of tunnel maps. The channel noted the possibility that Trump’s Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff, could meet with the movement’s leader in Gaza, Khalil al Hayya, in the near future to discuss the issue.
In the first public response to the announcement of the Peace Council and Kushner’s plan, Hamas spokesperson in Gaza Hazem Qassem said that the establishment of the council indicated international interest in consolidating the ceasefire. He stressed the importance of Arab and Islamic participation in the council, describing it as an expression of the Palestinian vision. He called on the council to pressure the occupation to halt its violations of the ceasefire agreement and to open border crossings, pointing to what he described as deliberate Israeli efforts to sabotage every peace plan proposed by President Trump.
Within Israel, a state marked by deep contradictions, particularly after the collapse of earlier war objectives such as mass displacement, territorial seizure, and settlement expansion, attention has shifted towards a long term project aimed at re engineering and culturally alienating Gaza’s population in a manner that enables coexistence with the occupation. The announcement of the reconstruction plan sparked significant debate, especially after Kushner crossed another red line by declaring that an agreement had been reached to open the Rafah land crossing in the coming week. This move had previously been rejected by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu prior to the return of the last Israeli body.
Retired Major General Yisrael Ziv, writing on the website of the Hebrew language Channel 12, argued that Israel faces a more important battle in Gaza than with Iran. He stated that the second phase led by the United States is advancing, and that Israelis are paying the price for the political vacuum created by Netanyahu’s rejection of the Egyptian plan, resulting in the return of Qatar and Turkey to Gaza. He added that while Turkey is the only actor capable of restraining Hamas, the new realities in Gaza will constrain Israel politically and militarily for a long time. He described this as a resounding failure in such a long and costly war.
Ultimately, Israel’s problem with Trump’s plan is framed around the question of how to gain more, rather than how to stop the bleeding of losses. As for the people of Gaza, who are being stripped of their identity and national character, it appears they do not have the luxury of time to debate the catastrophic national consequences of the American plan, while Israel continues to threaten daily with a return to genocide.
There’s no mention of a Independent Palestine. They don’t intend giving back the land.