What's happened
A US-led team, including Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff, has drafted a 10-year, $112 billion plan to transform Gaza into a high-tech metropolis. The proposal involves rebuilding infrastructure, luxury housing, and smart city features, contingent on Hamas disarming. The plan has yet to secure firm funding or detailed implementation strategies.
What's behind the headline?
The proposal reveals a strategic shift towards economic development as a means to stabilize Gaza, but it risks overlooking the immediate humanitarian crisis. The emphasis on luxury real estate and high-tech infrastructure suggests a vision driven by private investment interests rather than local needs. The condition that Hamas disarm before reconstruction is a significant obstacle, likely to stall progress. The plan's focus on monetizing Gaza's coastline and attracting international investment could deepen regional tensions, especially if it is perceived as sidelining Palestinian sovereignty. The timing indicates a calculated effort to shape the narrative around Gaza's future amid ongoing ceasefire negotiations, but its success hinges on regional acceptance and Hamas's compliance.
What the papers say
The New Arab highlights the plan's controversial nature, emphasizing Egypt's cautious stance and the risk of displacement for Gazans. The NY Post provides details on the ambitious scope, including luxury developments and technological innovations, but notes skepticism from US officials about Hamas's disarmament. The Times of Israel underscores the plan's development timeline and the conditionality tied to security assurances, reflecting broader regional and US interests in Gaza's reconstruction. Contrasting opinions reveal a tension between economic ambitions and humanitarian priorities, with regional actors wary of the plan's implications for Palestinian rights and sovereignty.
How we got here
The plan was developed over 45 days by a team led by Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff, aiming to rebuild Gaza after two years of Israeli attacks. It revives earlier US proposals to develop Gaza into a luxurious coastal city, but faces criticism for ignoring urgent humanitarian needs and potential displacement of residents. Egypt and other regional actors are wary of the plan's implications, especially regarding territorial sovereignty and the rights of Gazans.
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What Does the $112 Billion Gaza Rebuilding Plan Involve?
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More on these topics
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Hamas is a Palestinian Sunni-Islamic fundamentalist militant organization. It has a social service wing, Dawah, and a military wing, the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades.
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Egypt, officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia by a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula.
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The Gaza Strip, or simply Gaza, is a self-governing Palestinian territory on the eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea, that borders Egypt on the southwest for 11 kilometers and Israel on the east and north along a 51 km border.
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Jared Corey Kushner is an American investor, real-estate developer, and newspaper publisher who is currently senior advisor to his father-in-law, Donald Trump, the President of the United States.
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Steven Charles Witkoff is an American real estate investor and landlord based in New York City, and founder of the Witkoff Group.
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The United States of America, commonly known as the United States or America, is a country mostly located in central North America, between Canada and Mexico.
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Turkey, officially the Republic of Turkey, is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian peninsula in Western Asia, with a smaller portion on the Balkan peninsula in Southeastern Europe.
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Qatar, officially the State of Qatar, is a country located in Western Asia, occupying the small Qatar Peninsula on the northeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula.
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The Wall Street Journal is an American business-focused, English-language international daily newspaper based in New York City, with international editions also available in Chinese and Japanese.