Jared Kushner unveils ‘free market Gaza’ with coastal towers and data centres

Jared Kushner has unveiled a plan to turn Gaza into a region modelled on “free market principles” akin to that of the US, complete with tall buildings along the coast and business districts. 

Kushner, US President Donald Trump’s son in law and special envoy, outlined the plans on Thursday in Davos during the signing of the charter for Trump’s “Board of Peace”. 

The plan estimated that $25bn would be needed to develop the Palestinian enclave's utilities and public services. 

It included a six-phase development timeline, starting in southern Gaza and moving its way north. 

Phase one begins in Rafah and parts of Khan Younis, while phase two includes other parts of Khan Younis. Phase three aims to develop refugee camps in central Gaza, while phase four is focused on reconstruction in Gaza City. 

The proposal includes building a new airport, port, freight line and logistics corridor, a new trilateral crossing at Rafah, and new roads connecting Gaza’s urban centres. 

It also sets out areas designated for “coastal tourism” along Gaza’s coastline, with a plan to construct 180 “mixed use towers”.

In the central areas, there would be residential neighbourhoods and industrial zones which would include “data centres and advanced manufacturing facilities”.

A further $3bn investment fund was designated for what was described as commercial zones, business districts and grants to stimulate local enterprise. 

In a slide deck presented by Kushner titled “New Rafah”, the envoy suggested that 100,000 housing units would be built in the southern city, alongside over 200 educational centres, 75 medical centres and 180 “cultural, religious and vocational centres”. 

Another slide predicted that Gaza’s expected GDP by 2035 would be $10bn, with the average annual household income by that date set to be above $13,000. 

Palestinian-American writer Susan Abulhawa said that plan sought to “erase Gaza's indigenous character, turn what remains of her people into a cheap labour force to manage their ‘industrial zones’ and create an exclusive coastline for ‘tourism’.”

“The indigenous traditions and social fabric of this land will be obliterated utterly,” she said on X. 

Kushner said the White House was seeking to bring “free market economy principles” to Gaza, in a bid to reflect the “same mindset, same approach” that Trump is implementing in the US. 

Kushner addresses demilitarisation 

Elsewhere during his address, Kushner spoke about the demilitarisation of Hamas. 

He said that Hamas’ heavy weapons would be decommissioned immediately, while smaller arms would be decommissioned gradually by a new Palestinian police.

He said the reconstruction plan would only commence following full disarmament. 

One of the presentation slides said that Hamas members would be “rewarded with amnesty and reintegration, or safe passage”. The plan also said that some of these members would be “integrated” into a new Palestinian police force after “rigorous vetting”. 

Kushner said that once demilitarisation was completed, the Israeli military would withdraw to a security perimeter around Gaza.

The envoy said that a conference was set to be held in Washington about investment in Gaza in the coming weeks. 

He also called on commentators to “calm down for 30 days” on criticism of countries including Israel, Turkey and Qatar.  

Trump's “Board of Peace” includes the leaders of Egypt, Israel and Turkey, among a host of other world leaders and business figures. 

Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel’s prime minister, and Russia’s President Vladmir Putin have been extended invites too. Netanyahu said he had accepted. There are no Palestinians included.

The proposed board, which would be chaired for life by Trump, would require countries to pay a $1bn fee each to earn permanent membership.

Invitations to join the board have been addressed to some 50 nations.

A number of countries have either declined to confirm or outright refused to join the new body.

French President Emmanuel Macron’s entourage said on Monday that his country could not give a "favourable response” to the invitation at this stage, while Norway also said it would not be participating.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Tuesday that he had received an invitation but "does not imagine" participating alongside Russia. He said it was inconceivable that his country would join if Russia were present.

The UK also expressed apprehension over the potential presence of Russia. It said it was “concerned” by the invitation to the Russian president who “has proven time and again that he is not seriously committed to peace”, though the UK has yet to confirm whether it will join.

Norway will not participate in the "Peace Council" which "raises a certain number of questions", the prime minister's office announced to AFP on Wednesday.