In brief
During a recent signing ceremony at the World Economic Forum in Davos, the US administration unveiled plans for a 'New Gaza', which includes the reconstruction of the Palestinian territory from the ground up with extensive infrastructure, residential areas, and commercial facilities. President Trump expressed optimism about the development, while his son-in-law Jared Kushner outlined the initial phases of the ambitious project. The plan emphasizes demilitarization and international investment, amidst ongoing tensions and humanitarian crises in the region.
The US has unveiled its plans for a 'New Gaza' that would see the devastated Palestinian territory rebuilt from scratch.
Slides showed dozens of skyscrapers stretching along the Mediterranean coast and housing estates in the Rafah area, while a map outlining the phased development of new residential, agricultural and industrial areas for the 2.1 million population.
They were presented during a signing ceremony at the World Economic Forum in Davos for President Donald Trump's new Board of Peace, which is tasked with ending the two-year war between Israel and Hamas and overseeing reconstruction.
We're going to be very successful in Gaza. It's going to be a great thing to watch, Trump declared.
I'm a real estate person at heart and it's all about location. And I said: 'Look at this location on the sea. Look at this beautiful piece of property. What it could be for so many people.'
Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner, who helped broker the ceasefire that took effect in October, said 90,000 tonnes of munitions had been dropped on Gaza and there were 60 million tonnes of rubble to clear.
In the beginning, we were toying with the idea of saying: 'Let's build a free zone, and then we have a Hamas zone.' And then we said: 'You know what, let's just plan for catastrophic success', he told the ceremony.
A map of the US Master Plan showed a zone reserved for coastal tourism, where there would be 180 tower-blocks as well a number of zones for residential areas, industrial complex, data centers, advanced manufacturing and parks, agriculture and sports facilities.
Redevelopment would be divided into four phases, starting in Rafah and then gradually moving north towards Gaza City.
The map also featured an empty strip of land running along the Egyptian and Israeli borders. It appeared to mark what Trump's 20-point peace plan refers to as the security perimeter where Israeli forces will remain until Gaza is properly secure.
Another slide said New Rafah would have more than 100,000 permanent housing units, 200 education centres and 75 medical facilities.
Kushner said he believed it was doable to complete the construction of New Rafah in two to three years.
In the coming weeks, he added, there would be a conference in Washington where contributions from countries would be announced and amazing investment opportunities for the private sector outlined.
Trump also insisted Hamas hand over the body of the last dead Israeli hostage in Gaza, which Israel said should have happened before phase two of the peace plan began last week.
The ceasefire has remained fragile, with at least 477 Palestinians killed in Israeli strikes over the past three months, according to Gaza's Hamas-run health ministry.
