A plan believed to have emerged from the White House to transform Gaza into a "Riviera" of high-tech megacities has been widely condemned as a "crazy" attempt to legitimize the massive depopulation and ethnic cleansing of Palestinian territory.
According to the Washington Post, the published document – a 38-page prospectus – proposes the forced displacement of Gaza's entire population, some 2 million Palestinians, and placing the territory under a US trusteeship for at least a decade.
The plan, called the “Gaza Reconstruction, Economic Acceleration and Transformation Trust” – or GREAT for short – was drafted by Israeli individuals who have previously set up humanitarian foundations for Gaza with support from the US and Israel, and with financial assistance from the Boston Consulting Group.
The most controversial proposal: the “temporary” relocation of the entire population of Gaza. In practice, this would amount to ethnic cleansing and potentially an act of genocide.
Palestinians would be offered “voluntary departure” to other countries or relocation to “safe areas” within Gaza, while landowners would be given “digital tokens” in exchange for property rights, to finance their livelihoods elsewhere.
Those who would stay would be housed in very small housing units, just 30 square meters – smaller than most housing in Gaza refugee camps.
Strong international reactions
Philip Grant, director of the organization Trial International, called the plan "a scheme for mass deportation masquerading as economic development."
Trial and 14 other organizations warn that companies participating in the implementation of this plan may be co-responsible for international crimes, including war crimes and genocide.
Haaretz, a left-wing Israeli newspaper, called the plan "a Trumpian get-rich-quick scheme, based on war crimes, AI and tourism."
Other details of the plan include:
The construction of a luxury port and 8 high-tech megacities, influenced by Saudi Arabia's controversial Neom project.
An “Elon Musk industrial park” on the ruins of the Erez industrial zone – previously built by Israel to exploit cheap Palestinian labor.
The expropriation of agricultural lands to create an Israeli security zone on the border with Israel.
The document makes no mention of any notion of Palestinian sovereignty, statehood or the right to self-determination. Gaza is considered part of a “Palestinian political entity” that would join the Abraham Accords, while Israel would retain “supervisory rights” for security purposes.
The language used in the document appears to have been designed to appeal to figures such as Donald Trump, Elon Musk and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman – the security circle around Gaza is even named in the latter's honour.
Boston Consulting Group said work on the document had not been approved and two senior executives who led the financial planning have been fired.
Katherine Gallagher, an attorney at the Center for Constitutional Rights in New York, warned that any company involved in this plan, whether on the side of Israel or Trump, risks international prosecution for involvement in forcible population transfers.
The plan was released a few days after Trump held a meeting at the White House to discuss the future of Gaza, with the presence of former British Prime Minister Tony Blair and Jared Kushner, Trump's son-in-law.
Basem Naim, a senior Hamas official, reacted clearly: “Gaza is not for sale. Gaza is part of the greater Palestinian homeland.”
The Guardian
