Trump’s Gaza ‘Riviera’ reflects Kushner’s aspirations for waterfront real estate

U.S. President Donald Trump has proposed a vision for the Gaza Strip that involves the removal of its Palestinian residents and the transformation of the area into an international beach resort under American oversight. This concept echoes an idea previously suggested by his son-in-law, Jared Kushner, approximately a year ago.

During a press conference on Tuesday, Trump articulated this proposal, eliciting strong condemnation from both Palestinian representatives and Western observers, who argue that it amounts to ethnic cleansing and violates international law.

This is not the first instance of Trump discussing Gaza in the context of real estate potential. In October of the previous year, he remarked in a radio interview that Gaza could be “better than Monaco” if it were properly redeveloped. The notion of a significant redevelopment of Gaza gained traction following Israel’s military actions in the region after the Hamas-led assault on October 7, 2023. Kushner, who served as a special Middle East envoy during Trump’s first term and played a key role in the “Abraham Accords,” has been a prominent advocate for this idea.

At a Harvard event in February 2024, Kushner stated, “Gaza’s waterfront property could be very valuable if there is a focus on building livelihoods.” He has previously characterized the Arab-Israeli conflict as fundamentally a “real-estate dispute between Israelis and Palestinians.” He added, “It’s a little bit of an unfortunate situation there, but from Israel’s perspective, I would do my best to relocate the people and then clean it up.” Kushner has a background in property development in New York prior to his involvement in the Trump administration.

There were uncertainties regarding the interpretation of Trump’s proposal, considering his history as a dealmaker known for surprising his negotiating counterparts with unconventional tactics. A source affiliated with the royal court in Riyadh remarked that Saudi Arabia, a leading force in the Arab world, “will not take this statement very seriously. It lacks careful consideration and is unfeasible, so he will ultimately come to that realization.”

On Wednesday, Saudi Arabia’s foreign ministry issued a statement rejecting any efforts to displace Palestinians from their homeland. Both the Palestinian Authority and Hamas expressed their condemnation of the comments.

It remains unclear whether Kushner, whose private equity firm has received investments from Gulf nations, including $2 billion from Saudi Arabia, has had any discussions regarding investment in Gaza.

For Palestinians, the notion of transforming Gaza into a beachfront resort, while seemingly far-fetched, evokes memories of the “Nakba,” or catastrophe, following the 1948 war that marked the establishment of Israel, during which 700,000 individuals were displaced from their homes.

In the early stages of the conflict, social media was flooded with memes featuring altered images of beachfront condominiums along the Gaza coast, often shared by pro-Israel users aiming to ridicule Palestinians. This comes in the context of a humanitarian crisis, with health officials reporting that 47,000 people have died in Gaza due to Israel’s response to the October 7 attacks, which resulted in 1,200 fatalities, according to Israeli sources.

Israeli politicians have frequently criticized Palestinian leaders for prioritizing conflict with Israel over the potential to develop regions like Gaza into thriving cities akin to Dubai or Singapore, despite the fact that Gaza has been under a blockade for the past twenty years, severely restricting access to financial resources and essential materials.

In previous years, the coastal enclave attracted numerous Israeli tourists, and even after Hamas took control in 2007, it maintained a relaxed atmosphere with upscale beachside restaurants and cafes lining the waterfront. However, the feasibility of realizing Trump’s aspiration to transform Gaza into “The Riviera of the Middle East,” where Hamas continues to hold power and where his remarks have sparked significant backlash, remains unclear.

Land ownership in Gaza is governed by a complicated blend of regulations and customs derived from Ottoman, British mandate, and Jordanian laws, along with clan traditions, with land titles sometimes supported by documents from earlier legal frameworks. Currently, there are stringent restrictions on foreign land purchases.

At present, following 15 months of bombardment, Gaza has been described as a “demolition site” by Trump, necessitating 10 to 15 years for reconstruction, according to his special Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff, a former real estate developer who recently became the highest-ranking U.S. official to visit the enclave since the onset of the conflict. Reconstruction costs are estimated to reach as high as $100 billion.

Nevertheless, Gulf nations, which could potentially invest in Gaza’s rebuilding, have firmly declined to provide any financial support while the prospect of an independent Palestinian state remains unattainable. For other potential investors, the risks currently seem to outweigh the possible rewards, as noted by analysts consulted by Reuters. Many of Israel’s leading construction firms and the builders’ association chose not to comment.

“Redeveloping large-scale projects in post-conflict regions typically demands substantial investment, stability, and long-term planning; however, at this moment, it is impossible to make any concrete assessments,” stated Raz Domb, an analyst at Leader Capital Markets in Tel Aviv, an investment bank.

SETTLEMENTS

The Israeli settler movement has expressed considerable enthusiasm regarding the potential return to settlements in Gaza, which were vacated two decades ago during the tenure of former Prime Minister Ariel Sharon. Within the Trump administration, several officials have strong ties to this movement. Although Trump indicated that he did not envision the reconstruction of Jewish settlements in Gaza, his remarks were quickly embraced by settler advocates.

These groups assert that their desire to return to Gaza is rooted in their Biblical connections to the land; however, their immediate focus appears to be on the possibility of displacing Palestinians. Last year, the Nachala Movement, which advocates for Jewish settlement in the West Bank, organized a conference near the Gaza Strip titled “Preparing to Resettle Gaza.” During this event, members of Netanyahu’s Likud party and other politicians deliberated on strategies to “encourage emigration” of Palestinians from Gaza and to reinstate settlements.

The group stated on the social media platform X, “If Trump’s comments regarding the relocation of Gazans to other countries are implemented, we must act swiftly to establish settlements throughout the Gaza Strip.” They emphasized, “No part of the land of Israel should remain without Jewish settlement.”