Proposal Emerges for Post-War Gaza Under Trump Administration

by Emmitt Barry, with reporting from Worthy News Jerusalem Bureau Staff

(Worthy News) – A sweeping postwar strategy for Gaza, circulating within the Trump administration, envisions the United States taking administrative control of the territory for a decade under an American trusteeship, while transforming the war-torn enclave into a hub of luxury tourism and advanced technology, according to a Washington Post report.

The 38-page prospectus, titled the Gaza Reconstitution, Economic Acceleration and Transformation Trust (GREAT Trust), outlines proposals for temporarily relocating Gaza’s population of more than two million either abroad or into tightly controlled secure zones during reconstruction. Palestinians who agree to leave would reportedly receive a $5,000 cash payment, four years of rent subsidies, and a year’s worth of food assistance. Those who stay would be housed in restricted areas while utilities and infrastructure are rebuilt.

The plan calls for residents to exchange property rights for digital “land tokens,” which could be redeemed for apartments in six to eight proposed AI-powered smart cities or cashed out to help establish a new life elsewhere. Investor-driven “mega-projects” – from electric vehicle factories and data centers to high-rise residences and beach resorts – would fund reconstruction, aiming to deliver a fourfold return on an estimated $100 billion investment over ten years. Crucially, the project insists it requires no U.S. government funding.

Sources familiar with the effort said the proposal was developed by some of the same Israeli entrepreneurs who helped establish the U.S.- and Israeli-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), which is currently distributing food in the Strip. Financial modeling was conducted by staff formerly with Boston Consulting Group (BCG), though the firm later dismissed two partners involved after concluding they had acted without authorization.

President Donald Trump has repeatedly floated the idea of transforming Gaza into the “Riviera of the Middle East.” During his first months back in office, he suggested the enclave’s Mediterranean coastline offered prime real estate once Hamas was removed. “It’s got to be rebuilt in a different way,” Trump said earlier this year, describing Gaza as a “phenomenal location” for future development.

The White House has not confirmed whether the GREAT Trust reflects official policy. However, Trump hosted a closed-door meeting last week with Secretary of State Marco Rubio, envoy Steve Witkoff, former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, and adviser Jared Kushner to explore postwar options. No summary was released, but Witkoff told reporters the administration has “a very comprehensive plan.”

The proposal comes amid a crowded field of competing visions for Gaza’s future. Arab states have backed an Egyptian-led plan involving technocrats and Palestinian Authority officials, while the Biden administration, before leaving office, supported a temporary UN-backed administration. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has rejected Palestinian statehood and insists Israel will maintain security control, but has offered no detailed governance model beyond disarming Hamas. Some of his far-right coalition partners openly call for permanent Israeli annexation.

Whether Trump’s trusteeship idea gains traction remains uncertain. It has already provoked outrage in Arab capitals, where leaders insist any postwar settlement must lead to Palestinian statehood. Yet its backers argue the GREAT Trust represents a self-financing pathway to rebuild Gaza, attract investment, and reshape the enclave into a pro-Western economic corridor linking Israel, Egypt, and the Gulf.

With Israel preparing a new offensive to capture the last Hamas strongholds in Gaza City, U.S. officials say any reconstruction plan hinges on the war’s end and the removal of Hamas as both a military and governing force.

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