"genocide packaged as real estate."
Trump Admin Circulating Plan to Transform Depopulated Gaza Into High-Tech Cash Cow
Under the proposal, the US would take control after "voluntary" relocation of Palestinians from the strip, where proposed projects include an Elon Musk Smart Manufacturing Zone and Gaza Trump Riviera & Islands.
Under the proposal, the US would take control after "voluntary" relocation of Palestinians from the strip, where proposed projects include an Elon Musk Smart Manufacturing Zone and Gaza Trump Riviera & Islands.
This illustration shows the Gaza Reconstitution, Economic Acceleration, and Transformation (GREAT) Trust's vision for a Gaza emptied of Palestinians and under US control.
(Image by GREAT Trust)
Brett Wilkins
Sep 01, 2025
COMMON DREAMS
The White House is "circulating" a plan to transform a substantially depopulated Gaza into US President Donald Trump's vision of a high-tech "Riviera of the Middle East" brimming with private investment and replete with artificial intelligence-powered "smart cities."
That's according a 38-page prospectus for a proposed Gaza Reconstitution, Economic Acceleration, and Transformation (GREAT) Trust obtained by The Washington Post and published in a report on Sunday. Parts of the proposal were previously reported by the Financial Times.
"Gaza can transform into a Mediterranean hub for manufacturing, trade, data, and tourism, benefiting from its strategic location, access to markets... resources, and a young workforce all supported by Israeli tech and [Gulf Cooperation Council] investments," the prospectus states.
However, to journalist Hala Jaber, the plan amounts to "genocide packaged as real estate."
The GREAT Trust was drafted by some of the same Israelis behind the controversial Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), whose aid distribution points in Gaza have been the sites of deliberate massacres and other incidents in which thousands of aid-seeking Palestinians have been killed or wounded.
According to the Post, financial modeling for the GREAT Trust proposal "was done by a team working at the time for the Boston Consulting Group"—which played a key role in creating GHF. BCG told the Post that the firm did not approve work on the trust plan, and that two senior partners who led the financial modeling were subsequently terminated.
The GREAT Trust envisions "a US-led multirlateral custodianship" lasting a decade or longer and leading to "a reformed Palestinian self-governance after Gaza is "demilitarized and de-radicalized."
Josh Paul—a former US State Department official who resigned in October 2023 over the Biden administration's decision to sell more arms to Israel as it waged a war on Gaza increasingly viewed by experts as genocidal—told Democracy Now! last week that Trump's plan for Gaza is "essentially a new form of colonialism, a transition from Israeli colonialism to corporate" colonialism.
The GREAT Trust contains two proposals for Gaza's more than 2 million Palestinians. Under one plan, approximately 75% of Gaza's population would remain in the strip during its transformation. The second proposal involves up to 500,000 Gazans relocating to third countries, 75% of them permanently.
The prospectus does not say how many Palestinians would leave Gaza under the relocation option. Those who choose to permanently relocate to other unspecified countries would each receive $5,000 plus four years of subsidized rent and subsidized food for a year.
The GREAT Trust allocates $6 billion for temporary housing for Palestinians who remain in Gaza and $5 billion for those who relocate.
The proposal projects huge profits for investors—nearly four times the return on investment and annual revenue of $4.5 billion within a decade. The project would be a boon for companies ranging from builders including Saudi bin Laden Group, infrastructure specialists like IKEA, the mercenary firm Academi (formerly Blackwater), US military contractor CACI—which last year was found liable for torturing Iraqis at the notorious Abu Ghraib prison—electric vehicle manufacturer Tesla, tech firms such as Amazon, and hoteliers Mandarin Oriental and IHG Hotels and Resorts.
Central to the plan are 10 "megaprojects," including half a dozen "smart cities," a regional logistics hub to be build over the ruins of the southern city of Rafah, a central highway named after Saudi Crown Prime Mohammed bin Salman—Saudi Arabia and other wealthy Gulf states feature prominently in the proposal as investors—large-scale solar and desalinization plants, a US data safe haven, an "Elon Musk Smart Manufacturing Zone," and "Gaza Trump Riviera & Islands" similar to the Palm Islands in Dubai.
In addition to "massive" financial gains for private US investors, the GREAT Trust lists strategic benefits for the United States that would enable it to "strengthen" its "hold in the east Mediterranean and secure US industry access to $1.3 trillion of rare-earth minerals from the Gulf."
Earlier this year, Trump said the US would "take over" Gaza, American real estate developers would "level it out" and build the "Riviera of the Middle East" atop its ruins after Palestinians—"all of them"—leave Palestine's coastal exclave. The president called for the "voluntary" transfer of Gazans to Egypt and Jordan, both of whose leaders vehemently rejected the plan.
"Voluntary emigration" is widely considered a euphemism for ethnic cleansing, given Palestinians' general unwillingness to leave their homeland.
According to a May survey by the Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research, nearly half of Gazans expressed a willingness to apply for Israeli assistance to relocate to other countries. However, many Gazans say they would never leave the strip, where most inhabitants are descendants of survivors of the Nakba, the ethnic cleansing of more than 750,000 Palestinians during the creation of Israel in 1948. Some are actual Nakba survivors.
"I'm staying in a partially destroyed house in Khan Younis now," one Gazan man told the Post. "But we could renovate. I refuse to be made to go to another country, Muslim or not. This is my homeland."
The Post report follows a meeting last Wednesday at the White House, where Trump, senior administration officials, and invited guests including former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair, investor and real estate developer Jared Kushner—who is also the president's son-in-law—and Israeli Minister of Strategic Affairs Ron Dermer discussed Gaza's future.
While Dermer reportedly claimed that Israel does not seek to permanently occupy Gaza, Israeli leaders including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu—who is wanted by the International Criminal Court for alleged crimes against humanity and war crimes including murder and forced starvation in Gaza—have said they will conquer the entire strip and keep at least large parts of it.
"We conquer, cleanse, and stay until Hamas is destroyed," Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich recently said. "On the way, we annihilate everything that still remains."
The Israel Knesset also recently hosted a conference called "The Gaza Riviera–from vision to reality" where participants openly discussed the occupation and ethnic cleansing of the strip.
The publication of the GREAT Trust comes as Israeli forces push deeper into Gaza City amid a growing engineered famine that has killed at least hundreds of Palestinians and is starving hundreds of thousands of more. Israel's 696-day assault and siege on Gaza has left at least 233,200 Palestinians dead, wounded, or missing, according to the Gaza Health Ministry—whose casualty figures are seen as a likely undercount by experts.
Israel's Actions in Gaza 'Meet the Legal Definition of Genocide,' Say Leading Scholars
The resolution is "a definitive statement from experts in the field of genocide studies that what is going on on the ground in Gaza is genocide," said the president of the International Association of Genocide Scholars.
Starving Palestinians including women and children holding pots wait to receive food in the Gaza Strip on August 10, 2025.
(Photo by Khames Alrefi/Anadolu via Getty Images)
The resolution is "a definitive statement from experts in the field of genocide studies that what is going on on the ground in Gaza is genocide," said the president of the International Association of Genocide Scholars.
Starving Palestinians including women and children holding pots wait to receive food in the Gaza Strip on August 10, 2025.
(Photo by Khames Alrefi/Anadolu via Getty Images)
Brad Reed
Sep 01, 2025
COMMON DREAMS
Israel's actions in Gaza "meet the legal definition of genocide," an overwhelming majority of the world's leading scholars on the subject said on Monday.
The International Association of Genocide Scholars (IAGS) has passed a three-page resolution that outlines a wide range of Israeli actions that it says constitute genocide, including deliberate attacks against civilians, starvation, deprivation of humanitarian aid, sexual violence, and forced displacement of the population.
In addition to the actions of the Israeli military, the resolution also references statements by high-level Israeli government officials as proof of genocidal intent.
Specifically, the resolution cites "Israeli governmental leaders, war cabinet ministers, and senior army officers" who "have made explicit statements of 'intent to destroy,' characterizing Palestinians in Gaza as a whole as enemies and 'human animals' and stating the intention of inflicting 'maximum damage' on Gaza, 'flattening Gaza,' and turning Gaza into 'hell.'"
The scholars also note Israeli officials' support for a plan floated by US President Donald Trump to expel all Palestinians from Gaza, which they contend "amounts to ethnic cleansing."
The resolution, which passed with the support of 86% of IAGS members who voted on it, concludes by calling on the Israeli government to stop all genocidal actions in Gaza; comply with the provisional measures orders issued earlier this year by the International Court of Justice; and "support a process of repair and transitional justice that will afford democracy, freedom, dignity, and security for all people of Gaza."
Melanie O'Brien, president of IAGS and professor of international law at the University of Western Australia, told The Guardian that the scholars' resolution is "a definitive statement from experts in the field of genocide studies that what is going on on the ground in Gaza is genocide."
The IAGS resolution comes just a little more than a week after the United Nations-backed Integrated Food Security Phase Classification Initiative (IPC) declared a famine in Gaza that it warned was projected to get even worse in the coming weeks.
"Between mid-August and the end of September 2025, conditions are expected to further worsen with famine projected to expand to Deir al-Balah and Khan Younis," the IPC stated. "Nearly a third of the population (641,000 people) are expected to face catastrophic conditions (IPC Phase 5), while those in emergency (IPC Phase 4) will likely rise to 1.14 million (58%). Acute malnutrition is projected to continue worsening rapidly."
The Gaza Health Ministry currently estimates that more than 330 people in Gaza, including over 120 children, have so far died from severe hunger as a result of the Israeli blockade that has for months prevented the delivery of humanitarian aid.
Sep 01, 2025
COMMON DREAMS
Israel's actions in Gaza "meet the legal definition of genocide," an overwhelming majority of the world's leading scholars on the subject said on Monday.
The International Association of Genocide Scholars (IAGS) has passed a three-page resolution that outlines a wide range of Israeli actions that it says constitute genocide, including deliberate attacks against civilians, starvation, deprivation of humanitarian aid, sexual violence, and forced displacement of the population.
In addition to the actions of the Israeli military, the resolution also references statements by high-level Israeli government officials as proof of genocidal intent.
Specifically, the resolution cites "Israeli governmental leaders, war cabinet ministers, and senior army officers" who "have made explicit statements of 'intent to destroy,' characterizing Palestinians in Gaza as a whole as enemies and 'human animals' and stating the intention of inflicting 'maximum damage' on Gaza, 'flattening Gaza,' and turning Gaza into 'hell.'"
The scholars also note Israeli officials' support for a plan floated by US President Donald Trump to expel all Palestinians from Gaza, which they contend "amounts to ethnic cleansing."
The resolution, which passed with the support of 86% of IAGS members who voted on it, concludes by calling on the Israeli government to stop all genocidal actions in Gaza; comply with the provisional measures orders issued earlier this year by the International Court of Justice; and "support a process of repair and transitional justice that will afford democracy, freedom, dignity, and security for all people of Gaza."
Melanie O'Brien, president of IAGS and professor of international law at the University of Western Australia, told The Guardian that the scholars' resolution is "a definitive statement from experts in the field of genocide studies that what is going on on the ground in Gaza is genocide."
The IAGS resolution comes just a little more than a week after the United Nations-backed Integrated Food Security Phase Classification Initiative (IPC) declared a famine in Gaza that it warned was projected to get even worse in the coming weeks.
"Between mid-August and the end of September 2025, conditions are expected to further worsen with famine projected to expand to Deir al-Balah and Khan Younis," the IPC stated. "Nearly a third of the population (641,000 people) are expected to face catastrophic conditions (IPC Phase 5), while those in emergency (IPC Phase 4) will likely rise to 1.14 million (58%). Acute malnutrition is projected to continue worsening rapidly."
The Gaza Health Ministry currently estimates that more than 330 people in Gaza, including over 120 children, have so far died from severe hunger as a result of the Israeli blockade that has for months prevented the delivery of humanitarian aid.
Red Cross says Israeli plan to evacuate residents of Gaza City is 'incomprehensible'
As the Israeli army intensified operations to seize Gaza City and relocate its inhabitants, the Red Cross warned that the dire lack of shelter, healthcare and nutrition meant that evacuating the population was "not only unfeasible but incomprehensible under the present circumstances".
Issued on: 30/08/2025 -
By: FRANCE 24
'Daily misery'
Sheikh Radwan resident Mariam Yassine said the non-stop shelling had kept her children up all night.
"My husband went a few days ago to find us a place [to relocate] but he couldn't find anything, and we don't know what to do. We have no place to go," the 38-year-old said.
"We are living in daily misery here in Gaza, as if the world doesn't hear us or see us."
Philippe Lazzarini, head of the UN's Palestinian refugee agency UNRWA, warned on Friday that there were "nearly one million people between the city and the northern governorate who basically have nowhere to go, have no resources even to move".
Critics of the war inside Israel have urged against pursuing the planned Gaza offensive, warning it could claim the lives of more soldiers and endanger the safety of hostages taken by Hamas during its attack on October 7, 2023.
The Israeli army, whose troops have been conducting ground operations in Zeitoun for several days, said Saturday that two of its soldiers had been injured by an explosive device "during combat in the northern Gaza Strip".
Hamas's October 2023 attack, which sparked the war in Gaza, resulted in the deaths of 1,219 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on Israeli figures.
Of the 251 hostages seized during the attack, 47 are still being held in Gaza, around 20 of whom are believed to be alive.
Israel's retaliatory offensive has killed at least 63,025 Palestinians, most of them civilians, according to figures from the health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza, figures that the UN considers reliable.
(FRANCE 24 with AFP)
As the Israeli army intensified operations to seize Gaza City and relocate its inhabitants, the Red Cross warned that the dire lack of shelter, healthcare and nutrition meant that evacuating the population was "not only unfeasible but incomprehensible under the present circumstances".
Issued on: 30/08/2025 -
By: FRANCE 24
Displaced Gazans head south along a coastal road as the Israeli military gears up for a major new operation in the territory's north. © Eyad Baba, AFP
The Red Cross warned on Saturday that any Israeli efforts to evacuate Gaza City would put residents at risk as Israel's military tightened its siege ahead of a major planned offensive.
After nearly 23 months of devastating war, Israel is under increasing pressure to end its offensive in Gaza, where the United Nations has declared a famine and the majority of the population has been displaced, often several times over.
But despite the calls at home and abroad for an end to the war, the Israeli army is readying itself for an intensified operation to seize the Palestinian territory's largest urban centre and relocate its inhabitants.
"It is impossible that a mass evacuation of Gaza City could ever be done in a way that is safe and dignified under the current conditions," International Committee of the Red Cross president Mirjana Spoljaric said in a statement
The dire lack of shelter, healthcare and nutrition in Gaza meant evacuation was "not only unfeasible but incomprehensible under the present circumstances".
The UN estimates that nearly a million people currently live in Gaza governorate, which includes Gaza City and its surroundings.
An Israeli military statement on Friday declared Gaza City a "dangerous combat zone", adding that it would halt the daily pauses in fighting intended to allow limited food deliveries.
The military did not call for the population to leave immediately. But a day earlier, the Israeli defence ministry's Coordination of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT), which oversees civil affairs, said it was undertaking preparations "for moving the population southward for their protection".
The Red Cross warned on Saturday that any Israeli efforts to evacuate Gaza City would put residents at risk as Israel's military tightened its siege ahead of a major planned offensive.
After nearly 23 months of devastating war, Israel is under increasing pressure to end its offensive in Gaza, where the United Nations has declared a famine and the majority of the population has been displaced, often several times over.
But despite the calls at home and abroad for an end to the war, the Israeli army is readying itself for an intensified operation to seize the Palestinian territory's largest urban centre and relocate its inhabitants.
"It is impossible that a mass evacuation of Gaza City could ever be done in a way that is safe and dignified under the current conditions," International Committee of the Red Cross president Mirjana Spoljaric said in a statement
The dire lack of shelter, healthcare and nutrition in Gaza meant evacuation was "not only unfeasible but incomprehensible under the present circumstances".
The UN estimates that nearly a million people currently live in Gaza governorate, which includes Gaza City and its surroundings.
An Israeli military statement on Friday declared Gaza City a "dangerous combat zone", adding that it would halt the daily pauses in fighting intended to allow limited food deliveries.
The military did not call for the population to leave immediately. But a day earlier, the Israeli defence ministry's Coordination of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT), which oversees civil affairs, said it was undertaking preparations "for moving the population southward for their protection".
'Escalation'
A journalist working for AFP on the northern edge of Gaza City reported he had been ordered to evacuate by the army, adding that conditions had become increasingly difficult, with bombardments coming closer to his position and gunfire and explosions heard nearby.
The territory's civil defence agency reported intense Israeli strikes in Gaza City's Sabra and Zeitoun districts, and an "escalation" in the Sheikh Radwan area north of the city centre.
Abu Mohammed Kishko, a resident of the northern Zeitoun area, told AFP the bombardments the previous night had been "insane".
"It didn't stop for a second, and we didn't sleep all night," said Kishko, 42.
"We also couldn't breathe properly because of the smoke bombs – we were suffocating," he added.
Kishko explained that he, like many other residents, had not followed the Israeli evacuation orders because there was nowhere safe to go.
A journalist working for AFP on the northern edge of Gaza City reported he had been ordered to evacuate by the army, adding that conditions had become increasingly difficult, with bombardments coming closer to his position and gunfire and explosions heard nearby.
The territory's civil defence agency reported intense Israeli strikes in Gaza City's Sabra and Zeitoun districts, and an "escalation" in the Sheikh Radwan area north of the city centre.
Abu Mohammed Kishko, a resident of the northern Zeitoun area, told AFP the bombardments the previous night had been "insane".
"It didn't stop for a second, and we didn't sleep all night," said Kishko, 42.
"We also couldn't breathe properly because of the smoke bombs – we were suffocating," he added.
Kishko explained that he, like many other residents, had not followed the Israeli evacuation orders because there was nowhere safe to go.
'Daily misery'
Sheikh Radwan resident Mariam Yassine said the non-stop shelling had kept her children up all night.
"My husband went a few days ago to find us a place [to relocate] but he couldn't find anything, and we don't know what to do. We have no place to go," the 38-year-old said.
"We are living in daily misery here in Gaza, as if the world doesn't hear us or see us."
Philippe Lazzarini, head of the UN's Palestinian refugee agency UNRWA, warned on Friday that there were "nearly one million people between the city and the northern governorate who basically have nowhere to go, have no resources even to move".
Critics of the war inside Israel have urged against pursuing the planned Gaza offensive, warning it could claim the lives of more soldiers and endanger the safety of hostages taken by Hamas during its attack on October 7, 2023.
The Israeli army, whose troops have been conducting ground operations in Zeitoun for several days, said Saturday that two of its soldiers had been injured by an explosive device "during combat in the northern Gaza Strip".
Hamas's October 2023 attack, which sparked the war in Gaza, resulted in the deaths of 1,219 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on Israeli figures.
Of the 251 hostages seized during the attack, 47 are still being held in Gaza, around 20 of whom are believed to be alive.
Israel's retaliatory offensive has killed at least 63,025 Palestinians, most of them civilians, according to figures from the health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza, figures that the UN considers reliable.
(FRANCE 24 with AFP)
No comments:
Post a Comment