US weighing proposals for postwar reconstruction of Gaza

The Trump administration is weighing a proposal for the postwar reconstruction of Gaza that would put the Strip under US control for a decade and pay roughly a quarter of its population to relocate, many of them permanently. Anonymous sources familiar with the process told The Washington Post that key aspects of the proposal were designed “to make real” US President Donald Trump’s expressed hope to turn Gaza into the “Riviera of the Middle East.” The plan would place the enclave under a US-run trusteeship for roughly 10 years, “until a reformed and deradicalized Palestinian Polity is ready to step in its shoes,” reported the Post, citing a 38-page presentation for the so-called GREAT Trust proposal — short for Gaza Reconstitution, Economic Acceleration and Transformation.

During that 10-year period, the war-torn enclave would be rebuilt into a profitable tourism and tech manufacturing hub on the dime of public and private investors, who would fund “mega-construction projects” including electric vehicle plants, data centers, beach resorts and high-rise apartment complexes. And, Palestinians would be encouraged to relocate outside the Strip. Those who choose to leave Gaza — either temporarily or permanently — would receive “a $5,000 cash payment and subsidies to cover four years of rent elsewhere, as well as a year of food,” according to the report.

The plan is based on financial models developed by a DC-based team from the Boston Consulting Group — which also worked with the main American contractor on the US- and Israel-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation. The consultants predicted a fourfold return on investments, which would total some $100 billion over the 10-year reconstruction period. They also suggested in the presentation that additional costs could be cut by encouraging more Gazans to emigrate and soliciting more international aid contributions.