The Trump Administration's Delusional Gaza 'Master Plan'
by Khaled Abu Toameh • February 3, 2026 at 5:00 am
Even if Hamas does agree to surrender some of its weapons as part of a façade to appease Trump, the terror group will undoubtedly continue to keep or replace as many as possible to maintain a military, political and security presence in the Gaza Strip.
Hamas is not worried about the newly established Palestinian technocratic committee that is supposed to govern the Gaza Strip: the committee does not pose a direct threat to the terror group. The committee is primarily tasked with managing civilian affairs, delivering essential services such as water, electricity, healthcare and education, and rebuilding infrastructure. Security will remain in the hands of Hamas....
Building skyscrapers and an airport in the Gaza Strip will not change the Palestinians' views on Israel. The Palestinians are not going to give up the "right of return" because of foreign investment in the Gaza Strip. Hamas is not going to recognize Israel's right to exist or give up its Jihad (holy war) against the "Zionist entity" because of new homes, luxury apartments and tourist resorts. The only way to change the hearts and minds of Palestinians is through a deep and thorough process of re-education and actual serious pressure, for once, from the outside world. This requires brave, strong and pragmatic leadership -- both from the Palestinians and the international community -- an attribute that, unfortunately, does not seem to exist.
At the recent annual meeting of the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Jared Kushner, President Donald J. Trump's son-in-law, presented his "New Gaza" master plan that outlines a post-war vision to transform the territory into a hub for "coastal tourism" and commerce.
The plan features 180 luxury skyscrapers, new logistics corridors, a port, an airport, and 100,000 housing units, along with significant industrial zones/data centers.
This is the second economic plan presented by Kushner since the 2019 "Peace to Prosperity: A New Vision for the Palestinian People and the Broader Middle East," also known as the "Deal of the Century." The economic portion of that plan was a $50 billion investment to transform the Palestinian economy over 10 years. The deal aimed to fund 179 projects across the West Bank, the Gaza Strip, and neighboring countries.
