A leaked 32-page document, obtained by The Wall Street Journal, outlines President Donald Trump's latest plan for the Gaza Strip. The proposal, drafted by Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner and envoy Steve Witkoff, outlines how the strip of land will be transformed into a high-tech metropolis with high-speed trains, AI networks and luxury hotels.
The document contains images of luxury skyscrapers, futuristic buildings, cost tables and diagrams, but lacks specific details about financing. It also does not say where Gaza's approximately 2 million residents will live during the reconstruction phase. According to the newspaper, the US has presented the document to potential donor countries, including Turkey, Egypt and the Gulf states.
Some US officials who have reviewed the plan doubt its feasibility, citing the difficulties of disarming Hamas, a terrorist group, which is a prerequisite for the plan to take effect. Even if it succeeds, it will be difficult to convince other countries to finance reconstruction.
US dolphin financier
Other officials believe it offers the most detailed and optimistic vision yet of what Gaza could look like if Hamas lays down its arms.
The proposal would cost about $112 billion over 10 years, with the United States covering about 20 percent of some reconstruction costs, according to the WSJ. Gaza would then self-finance many projects in the years to come, eventually paying off its debt as the economy develops.
The 20-year roadmap was to be completed in four stages, starting in the south with Rafah and Khan Yunis, then the central parts, before concluding with Gaza City.
A Trump administration official said that if security conditions permit, the plan could be implemented as soon as two months.
"Nothing will happen"
According to Steven Cook, a Middle East expert at the American think tank Council on Foreign Relations, the plan is unrealistic.
"They can take as many pictures as they want. No one in Israel will agree to the current situation changing and everyone is okay with that," he told the WSJ, adding:
Nothing will happen until Hamas is disarmed, and Hamas will not let itself be disarmed, so nothing will happen.
