Jared Kushner unveiled an ambitious vision Thursday for a cosmopolitan Gaza Strip that will attract investment and tourists after years of war — looking much like his father-in-law President Trump’s call for converting the war-torn Mediterranean territory into a “Rivera of the Middle East.”
Kushner, 45, showed off renderings of luxe beachfront skyscrapers and suburban subdivisions for the Palestinian territory’s nearly 2 million people, many of whom are currently living in tents or beneath rubble in the aftermath of the two-year war that ended in October.
“In the Middle East, they have built cities like this — for two, three million people — they build this in three years. And so stuff like this is very doable if we make it happen,” Kushner said at the inaugural meeting of the Trump-chaired Board of Peace, which was formed to supervise a transitional government.
The Hamas terrorist group, which still controls Gaza’s most populated areas, must disarm before construction can start and “without that, we can’t rebuild,” Kushner said in his remarks in Davos, Switzerland, where Trump was attending meetings at the annual World Economic Forum.
“Without security, nobody is going to make investments.”
The plans call for a phased reconstruction of the impoverished territory, beginning with the mass-development of 100,000 homes in Rafah in the area’s south, with a goal of completion within three years.
New Gaza, which would be developed later, would be a hub of industry and employment, he said.
“In the beginning we were toying with the idea of saying, ‘Let’s build a free zone, and then we have a Hamas zone.’ And then we said, ‘You know what? Let’s just plan for catastrophic success,’” said Kushner, who alongside special envoy Steve Witkoff brokered an end to the war.
Kushner also negotiated the Abraham Accords establishing Israeli relations with four Arab countries during Trump’s first term and said the grandiose reconstruction vision may likewise seem impossible before it happens.
“Hamas signed a deal to demilitarize. That is what we are going to enforce. People ask us what our Plan B is. We do not have a Plan B,” he said. “We have a plan. We signed an agreement. We are all committed to making that agreement work. There’s a master plan. We’ll be doing it in phases.”
The inaugural Board of Peace meeting had Trump signing documents with many nations’ representatives to join the organization, which the American president has described as destined to expand its mission to other world conflicts.
Kusher said the board is working to schedule an invetor conference in Washington to promote “amazing investment opportunities” in Gaza.
“We want to use free market economy principles — a lot of what President Trump spoke about that he’s doing in America. We want to bring this same mindset the same approach to a place like Gaza to give these people the ability to thrive and have a good life,” Kushner said.
The interim “technocratic” government of Gaza, which does not currently control the region, was announced last week by the White House, with little-known former Palestinian Authority bureaucrat Dr. Ali Sha’ath serving as chairman.
“This government will be working with Hamas on the demilitarization phase, and hopefully that will be successful. Without that, we can’t rebuild,” Kushner said.
“So if Hamas does not demilitarize, that will be what holds back Gaza and the people of Gaza from achieving their aspiration, and that’s very important. So for the next 100 days, we’re going to continue to just be heads down and focused on making sure this [demilitarization] is implemented.”
