By James Mackenzie
JERUSALEM (Reuters) – President Donald Trump’s idea of turning the Gaza Strip into an international beach resort controlled by the United States has resurfaced, echoing a suggestion made by his son-in-law Jared Kushner a year ago. Trump’s recent announcement about this proposal has sparked strong reactions from Palestinians and critics who see it as a form of ethnic cleansing and a violation of international law.
This is not the first time Trump has spoken about Gaza in terms of potential real estate investments. Last year, he mentioned in an interview that Gaza could rival Monaco if developed properly. The concept of radically transforming Gaza was initially suggested after Israel’s military operation in response to a Hamas-led attack in October 2023, notably by Kushner, who played a key role in brokering the normalization agreements between Israel and several Arab nations known as the “Abraham Accords.”
Kushner has previously expressed his belief that Gaza’s valuable waterfront could be developed to improve livelihoods, comparing the situation to a real estate dispute. However, some have questioned the practicality of Trump’s proposal, considering his reputation for unconventional negotiating tactics. Saudi Arabia, a significant player in the region, has indicated skepticism about the feasibility of the plan.
Saudi Arabia, along with the Palestinian Authority and Hamas, has rejected any efforts to displace Palestinians from their land. While discussions about potential investments in Gaza from Kushner’s private equity firm have not been confirmed, the idea of transforming Gaza into a resort evokes painful memories for Palestinians, reminiscent of the displacement that occurred during the 1948 war.
Despite the unrealistic nature of the proposal, which has been met with criticism and condemnation, it highlights the ongoing tensions in the region and the challenges faced by Palestinians in Gaza. The debate over Gaza’s potential for development versus its history of conflict continues to be a contentious issue.
Limits access to finance and basic materials. In former years, the coastal enclave was a popular destination for Israeli tourists and even after the takeover by the Islamist movement Hamas in 2007, there was a laidback scene of smart beachside restaurants and cafes along the seafront. But the practicalities of realizing Trump’s vision of creating “The Riviera of the Middle East” in Gaza, where the Islamist movement Hamas is still firmly in control and where there has been a furious reaction to his comments, remain unexplained. Land ownership in Gaza is covered by a complex mix of regulations and customs drawn from Ottoman, British mandate, and Jordanian laws as well as clan practices, with land title sometimes backed by documents from previous legal regimes. There are currently heavy restrictions on foreigners buying land. For the moment, after 15 months of bombardment, Gaza is a “demolition site” in Trump’s words, that will require 10-15 years of reconstruction, according to his special Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff, himself a former real-estate developer who last week became the most senior U.S. official to step foot in the enclave since the war began. Estimates of the cost of reconstruction go as high as $100 billion. However, Gulf countries, a potential source of investment in rebuilding Gaza, have strongly rejected offering any finance while a pathway to an independent Palestinian state remains closed. For other potential investors, the uncertainties appear to outweigh any potential benefits, at least for the moment, according to analysts contacted by Reuters. Many of Israel’s largest construction companies and the builders association declined to comment. “Large-scale redevelopment in post-conflict areas generally requires significant investment, stability, and long-term planning, but beyond that, it’s impossible to assess anything concrete right now,” said Raz Domb, an analyst at Leader Capital Markets in Tel Aviv, an investment bank. SETTLEMENTS One group that has reacted with enthusiasm is Israel’s settler movement, which has long dreamed of returning to settlements in Gaza that were abandoned 20 years ago under former Israeli prime Minister Ariel Sharon. Trump’s own administration contains a number of officials close to the settler movement and although Trump said he did not see Jewish settlements being rebuilt in Gaza, his comments were seized on immediately. Settler groups say their interest in returning to Gaza is motivated by the Biblical connections they feel with the land but, for the moment at least, such considerations were secondary to the prospect of moving out Palestinians. Last year, the Nachala Movement, which promotes Jewish settlement in the West Bank, helped organize a conference at the edge of the Gaza Strip called “Preparing to Resettle Gaza”, where politicians in Netanyahu’s Likud party and others discussed plans to “encourage emigration” of Palestinians from Gaza and rebuild the settlements. “Assuming Trump’s comments about transferring Gazans to other countries are translated into practice, we must hurry and establish settlements throughout the Gaza Strip,” the group said on the social media platform X
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