TNA Staff
The New Arab Staff / January 23, 2026
The Trump admin gave a glimpse into its reconstruction plans for Gaza at Davos, in a presentation that appeared to raise more questions than it answered.
US President Donald Trump’s son-in-law and Middle East advisor, Jared Kushner, unveiled ambitious plans for Gaza’s reconstruction on Thursday at the Davos economic forum.
The announcement came as Trump’s new [so-called] “Board of Peace” – which includes leaders from several countries invited by the US president – gathered to ratify the new body’s constitution.
The controversial new plans appear to have raised as many questions as they answered about Gaza’s future – complicated further by Israel’s continued bombing of the enclave.
The New Arab takes a look at the latest details in Trump’s “New Gaza” plan.
What will be built ?
During his 10-minute presentation on Thursday, Kushner made use of slides with computer-generated images of modern cities with sleek high-rises, a pristine coastline that attracts tourists and a state-of-the-art port that juts into the Mediterranean.
In Kushner’s vision of a future Gaza, there would be new roads and a new airport — the old one was destroyed by Israel more than 20 years ago — plus a new port, and an area along the coastline designated for “tourism” that is currently where most Palestinians live. The plan calls for eight “residential areas” interspersed with parks, agricultural land and sports facilities.
Also highlighted by Kushner were areas for “advanced manufacturing”, “data centres”, and an “industrial complex”, though it is not clear what industries they would support.
How long would it take ?
Kushner claimed it would be possible — if there’s security — to quickly rebuild Gaza’s cities, which are now in ruins after more than two years of war between Israel and Hamas.
“In the Middle East, they build cities like this … in three years,” said Kushner, who helped broker the ceasefire in place since October. “And so stuff like this is very doable, if we make it happen.”
That timeline is at odds with what the United Nations and Palestinians expect will be a very long process to rehabilitate Gaza. Across the territory of roughly 2 million people, former apartment blocks are hills of rubble, unexploded ordnance lurks beneath the wreckage, disease spreads because of sewage-tainted water and city streets look like dirt canyons.
According to some estimates, Israel has dropped as much as 200,000 tons of explosives on Gaza, decimating the enclave’s infrastructure – including hospitals, schools, and roads. The Israeli army is also continuing large-scale demolitions, particularly of housing blocks.
The United Nations Office for Project Services says Gaza has more than 60 million tons of rubble, enough to fill nearly 3,000 container ships. That will take over seven years to clear, they say, and then additional time is needed for demining.
Thousands of Palestinians are also believed to be still buried beneath the rubble.
The United Nations says unexploded shells and missiles are everywhere in Gaza, posing a threat to people searching through rubble to find their relatives, belongings, and kindling.
Rights groups say rubble clearance and demining activities have not begun in earnest in the zone where most Palestinians live because Israel has prevented the entry of heavy machinery.
Kushner said construction would first focus on building “workforce housing” in Rafah, a southern city that was decimated during the war and is currently controlled by Israeli troops. He said rubble clearing and demolition were already underway there.
After Rafah will come the reconstruction of Gaza City, Kushner said, or “New Gaza”, as his slide calls it. The new city could be a place where people will “have great employment”, he said.
Importantly, he also said that construction would only work if Gaza had “security” — a big “if”.
Hamas disarmament ?
Hanging over the timelines for Gaza’s reconstruction is the US-Israeli push to disarm Hamas, which has so far not succeeded. In Trump’s 20-point plan for Gaza, Hamas was set to disarm during the second phase, however, the group has insisted it will not give up its weapons for the moment.
The Palestinian group has pointed to Israel’s continued attacks on Gaza, and its refusal to allow vital aid into the enclave.
Hamas has underscored its right to resist Israeli occupation, but says it would consider “freezing” its weapons as part of a process to achieve Palestinian statehood.
Since the latest ceasefire took effect on 10 October, Israeli troops have killed at least 470 Palestinians in Gaza, including young children and women, according to the territory’s Health Ministry.
In the face of these challenges, the Board of Peace has been working with Israel on “de-escalation”, Kushner said, adding that its attention is now on the demilitarisation of Hamas — a process that would be managed by the US-backed Palestinian committee overseeing Gaza.
It’s far from certain that Hamas will yield to this authority, which goes by the acronym NCAG and is envisioned eventually handing over control of Gaza to a reformed Palestinian Authority. Hamas says it will dissolve the government to make way, but has been vague about what will happen to its forces or weapons.
Another factor that could complicate disarmament: the existence of competing armed groups in Gaza, which Kushner’s presentation said would either be dismantled or “integrated into NCAG”. During the war, Israel has supported armed groups and gangs of Palestinians in Gaza in what it says is a move to counter Hamas. The Israel-backed groups have long been accused of running criminal activity in Gaza, including looting aid, smuggling drugs and having links to the Islamic State group.
Without security, Kushner said, there would be no way to draw investors to Gaza or stimulate job growth. The latest joint estimate from the U. the European Union and the World Bank is that rebuilding Gaza will cost $70 billion.
Reconstruction would not begin in areas that are not fully disarmed, one of Kushner’s slides said.
What about the Palestinians ?
When unveiling his plan for Gaza’s reconstruction, Kushner did not say how demining would be handled or where Gaza’s residents would live as their areas are being rebuilt. At the moment, most families are sheltering in a stretch of land that includes parts of Gaza City and most of Gaza’s coastline.
The plans have already drawn criticism from Palestinian and Arab political commentators, with many describing the blueprint as “colonial”.
Meanwhile, it is unclear whether Israel is fully on board with the US plans.
Israeli leaders – including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu – have openly advocated for the “voluntary migration” of Palestinians – a term widely seen as a euphemism for ethnic cleansing.
Israeli hardliners, including ministers within Netanyahu’s government, are keen to see Jewish settlements built in Gaza under the supervision of the Israeli army.
