“We have a masterplan. … There is no Plan B.”
Thus spake Jared Kushner, unveiling his vision for postwar Gaza in front of an audience of the World Economic Forum at Davos.
If it failed, he said, blame would be easy to ascribe.
“If Hamas does not demilitarize, that will be what holds back the people of Gaza from achieving their aspirations,” he said.
Kushner, the president’s son-in-law, who played a leading role in brokering that agreement, leaned into optimism, albeit with occasional notes of caution and at least one notable omission: the international stabilization force, a key part of Trump’s original ceasefire plan for the Gaza Strip.
Here’s a look at some of the key points:
Coastal tourism, an airport and a port
A map of Gaza was pulled up on a screen to show how the enclave would be developed."Jared Kushner presents a plan for post-war Gaza following a signing ceremony for the “Board of Peace” at the World Economic Forum on January 22, 2026 in Davos, Switzerland." class="image_large__dam-img" height="1350" loading="lazy" src="https://media.cnn.com/api/v1/images/stellar/prod/davos-deck-44.jpg?c=original&q=w_860,c_fill" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; border-radius: 8px; box-sizing: inherit; height: 378.102px; inset-inline: 0px; margin-inline: 0px; max-width: 530px; position: relative; text-rendering: optimizelegibility; width: 530px;" width="530" />
A port was shown at the southwestern end of Gaza, alongside the border with Egypt, and immediately inland from the port, the map showed zoning for an airport.
(A few miles to the south, not marked on the map, lies the site of a previous Gaza airport, destroyed more than 20 years ago in earlier Israeli attacks.)
New cities
Kushner highlighted two urban developments, which he referred to as New Rafah and New Gaza.
At “New Rafah,” more than 100,000 permanent housing units would be built, along with over 200 schools and more than 75 medical facilities, he said. He expressed hope that the construction would be completed within two to three years. Work has already begun to remove the rubble, he said.
“New Gaza” is to be a center of industry, with the aim of achieving 100% full employment, Kushner said. Computer-generated images suggest a metropolis bearing a strong resemblance to Persian Gulf cities like Doha and Dubai, with gleaming waterside accommodations and office locations.
Undoubtedly, the scale of the task is enormous, and the presentation was scant on details about how it would all be realized. Two years of Israeli bombardment, launched in response to Hamas’ attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, has left more than 80% of Gaza’s buildings damaged or destroyed.
Who’s going to pay for it?
Governments will make the first contributions, Kushner said, with initial announcements to come at a conference in Washington in the next couple of weeks.
No comments:
Post a Comment