Trump’s Gaza “Riviera” Plan

Peloni:  The devil will be in the details, so we will see.

Text:

Trump’s “Day After Gaza” plan, revealed by the Washington Post, lays out a sweeping vision to erase Hamas’s rule and remake Gaza into what he calls the “Riviera of the Middle East.”

American Oversight: A U.S. trusteeship would run Gaza for about ten years, managing governance and reconstruction before handing power to local forces.

Population Shift: Around two million Gazans would either relocate into designated internal zones or emigrate abroad. Those leaving would receive incentives including $5,000 cash, four years of rent, and a year of food subsidies.

Development Drive: The plan proposes building six to eight AI-powered smart cities, luxury resorts, industrial hubs, and new infrastructure. Financing would come from the GREAT Trust, backed by public-private funds, with heavy input expected from Saudi Arabia and the UAE. Qatar’s role is encouraged by Washington but eyed warily by Israel.

Security Control: The IDF would retain ultimate security authority, with private contractors and foreign troops handling operations on the ground. Within a decade, local vetted forces would take over daily responsibilities.

No Statehood: The proposal makes no mention of a Palestinian state, framing the effort as a joint U.S.–Israel project focused on long-term control and economic redevelopment rather than political concessions.

 

President Trump envisions transforming Gaza, devastated by war, into the “Riviera of the Middle East” with resorts, smart cities, and a high-tech hub. The U.S. would administer Gaza under trusteeship for at least 10 years, oversee reconstruction, and push a population strategy that incentivizes Palestinians to relocate to other countries.

1. U.S. Administrative Control

• Duration: 10–15 years of U.S. trusteeship.
• Scope: Manage clearing 50M+ tons of debris, neutralizing unexploded ordnance, and addressing environmental contamination.
• Authority: Trump said the U.S. would “own Gaza,” though aides later clarified there would be no direct U.S. troop or funding commitment.

2. Palestinian Relocation

• Mechanism: Offer financial incentives for Palestinians to “voluntarily” move to Egypt, Jordan, or other regions (Libya, Sudan, Syria, Somalia’s Puntland or Somaliland).

• Permanence Debate: Initially described as permanent, with Trump insisting Palestinians would not return. Aides later framed it as temporary.

• Destinations: Trump floated “six safe communities” or a “beautiful new land,” though Egypt and Jordan have rejected hosting.

3. Redevelopment Plan

• Economic Goals: Build resorts, harbors, an airport, and high-tech industries.
• Infrastructure: Rebuild Gaza’s collapsed water, sanitation, and agriculture systems, while surveying Hamas’s tunnel damage.
• Timeline: 10–15 years, possibly up to 25 given the scale (90% of Gaza’s population displaced, half of infrastructure destroyed).
• Inhabitants: Envisioned as open to “the world’s people,” though Trump has contradicted himself on whether Palestinians would return.

4. Security and Governance

• Hamas: Assumes Gaza is cleared of Hamas, though no strategy is offered for ensuring that.
• Military Presence: Trump first suggested U.S. troops “if necessary,” then walked it back. Security arrangements remain undefined.
• Humanitarian Argument: Trump claims Palestinians live in “hell” and would be better off relocated to “safe, beautiful communities.”
• Economic Promise: He calls it a chance to create “unlimited jobs and housing,” making Gaza’s coast a global destination.

 

August 31, 2025 | 5 Comments »

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  3. I think it is important that the US has formulated a timetable, though it seems vague at this point, ie 10-15yrs. It is also important to grasp that Israel has been given full security control over Gaza and that there will be no US boots on the ground, both of which should be a necessary requirement for this model to even begin. One of the most enticing aspects of the details provided is the fascilitated transfer of 2 million Gazans, which if true would leave at most a couple hundred thousand Gazans. This rises the question of who might the US be intending to transfer control to when they leave. Indeed, will this model provide for the return of Gazans, will it refuse the entry of Jews? Consider the implications of a US enterprise on Jewish lands in which the land was maintained as Judenrein in anticipation of the return of the psychopathic Gazans. Certainly, this is not a workable feature of the proposal, which is entirely vague on these points. So, as I noted in my preface, there is much to be determined in the details, even if this report is not Washington Post Fake News of the day.

  4. Ten years is a long time. Presidents only serve for 4. What if the next president is an anti-Trump Israelophobe? Will he or she be locked into this plan?

    Obama didn’t honor Bush’s promises, Biden didn’t honor Trump’s, Trump didn’t even honor his own promise to give the green light to applying sovereignty and civil law to contiguous Yesha Jewish communities, and then gaslighted Bibi through his proxy, Jared Kushner until Bibi produced his letter with the promise in writing. And just now, he changed permanent to temporary resettlement.

    What if the Arabs who choose to remain start killing Jews, again? Will the IDF have a free hand? Who will be in charge of educating the Arabs in schools and mosques?

    Sorry, in my opinion, the only good thing about this plan was the permanent relocation of the Arab population. Now it’s temporary? The whole cycle will start up again.

    The lesson in all this is that Israel cannot afford to outsource sovereignty; It has never worked, and never will. I’m reminded of Simon Peres’s idea for a man-made island for Gazan economic trade and development, not to mention the Oslo debacle, for which he and Yossin Beilin were the principal authors.

    I forget which Hamas leader said at the time, “If we wanted to turn Gaza into the Singapore of the Middle East, we would have done it ourselves.”

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