President Trump continues planning significant post-war Gaza reconstruction, including voluntary emigration

Despite a lack of recent reports, U.S. President Donald Trump is still planning a dramatic post-war plan for the Gaza Strip. The plan envisions U.S. administration of the enclave during a 10-year reconstruction period that would include voluntary emigration, The Washington Post reported Sunday. 

The Post claimed to have seen a 38-page prospectus describing plans to offer voluntary relocation for anyone wishing to leave, or resettlement in safe zones to be set up in areas cleared of debris and destruction during the period of reconstruction. Those choosing to leave Gaza would reportedly receive a $5,000 cash payment, as well as subsidies to help cover four years of rent and one year of food in their destination country.

According to the report, the plan is titled the Gaza Reconstitution, Economic Acceleration and Transformation Trust, or GREAT Trust, and was developed by some of the same people who helped develop the plan for the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), which has been distributing humanitarian aid at four sites in the Gaza Strip. Financial planning for the project was reportedly done by the Boston Consulting Group (BCG), which also helped fund GHF. 

The Post said it spoke to “people familiar with the trust planning and with administration deliberations” on condition of anonymity, due to the sensitive nature of the plan. Trump’s initial announcement of a U.S. takeover of the Gaza Strip, for the purpose of developing the enclave into a tourism and business hub, was met with quick backlash from much of the Arab world and Western nations committed to the two-state solution. 

The GREAT Trust, if it is indeed the plan currently being pursued by the U.S., would mark the first concrete details of Trump’s vision for Gaza since his press conference with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, where he outlined his intentions. A previous Financial Times report mentioned the involvement of BCG, the title “Great Trust,” and additional details.

That report also claimed that the Tony Blair Institute (TBI) had participated in a project to develop a post-war Gaza plan, in which the “Great Trust” was initially discussed. 

The plan reportedly proposed offering payments to as many as 500,000 Palestinians to leave the Gaza Strip, both to facilitate reconstruction efforts and to attract investors to support development.

According to The Financial Times, the TBI document called for the development of Gaza as “a secure, modern prosperous society.” 

The Financial Times noted in its article that several different ideas were discussed during the project, including one from an Israeli businessman, which did not call for the relocation of Palestinians outside the Strip. 

The report also noted that two BCG staff members who worked on developing the “GREAT Trust” were dismissed from the company because they had not been authorized to work on the project. 

The “GREAT Trust” would call for all public land in Gaza to be put into a trust for development, according to the report. Investors who wish to participate in the development would be given a digital token based on blockchain technology. Gaza civilians owning private land could put that property into the trust, and receive in return a token guaranteeing them a residential housing unit in the finished project. 

The Post reported that the plan seeks to avoid the need for U.S. government funding of reconstruction efforts, relying instead on investors hoping to turn a profit from the development project. Slides shared by both the Financial Times and The Washington Post indicate that Trump is still pursuing his plan to convert Gaza into the “Riviera of the Middle East,” as he announced in February. 

It is not known if the “GREAT Trust” was part of the recent discussions about post-war Gaza by the Trump administration. The White House provided no read-out of the meeting. 

Any plans for the reconstruction of Gaza are dependent on the almost two-year war ending, with the United States, Israel, and some regional partners insisting that any permanent ceasefire must include the removal of Hamas as a military and governing institution. 

Israel is expected to launch Operation Gideon’s Chariots II within the next couple of weeks, aimed at seizing one of the last Hamas strongholds in Gaza City.