"A developer at heart," Trump reveals his "New Gaza" real estate project

The war in Gaza, triggered by the unprecedented attack of the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas against Israel in October 2023, has devastated the territory and forced the majority of its inhabitants to flee. A US-brokered ceasefire took effect in October, but the humanitarian crisis continues for most Gazans.

"I'm going to have a lot of success in Gaza, it's going to be a beautiful sight," the US president said as he presented his controversial "Peace Council" in Davos, initially designed to oversee the reconstruction of the Palestinian territory.

"I am a property developer at heart (...) and I said, look at this seaside site, look at this superb plot of land, what it could be for so many people," he told the World Economic Forum being held in the Swiss winter sports resort.

His son-in-law Jared Kushner, who has no official function but acts as one of several emissaries for the conflict in Gaza, believed that this "master project" was destined for "frightening success".

Showing off a sketch of dozens of apartment towers with terraces overlooking a shaded walkway, he promised that this landscape would replace the ruins left by the war.

"In the Middle East, they build cities like that, for two or three million people, and they do it in three years," he said. "It's feasible in three years if we want it to be."

He estimated that $25 billion in investments would be needed to rebuild infrastructure and public services in the Palestinian territory.

In 10 years, Gaza's GDP would reach $10 billion, and the average household income would reach $13.000, thanks to "100% full employment and opportunities for all".

He claimed that the "National Committee for the Administration of Gaza", supposed to work under the authority of Donald Trump's "Peace Council", had received a proposal from Israeli real estate developer Yakir Gabay.

"He volunteered not for profit, but truly following his heart," Jared Kushner asserted. "So in the next 100 days we will continue relentlessly to ensure that this happens," he added.

He believed that a complete disarmament of Hamas, as stipulated in the ceasefire agreement reached in October, would convince investors and donors.

"There are going to be fantastic investment opportunities," Mr. Kushner concluded.

His presentation did not mention Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, whose country had put forward a 2025 plan for the reconstruction of Gaza supported by Arab countries and welcomed by the European Union.

According to a statement from his office, Mr. Sissi returned at dawn on Thursday, a few hours after a one-on-one meeting with Mr. Trump during which the two men exchanged compliments, with the American president calling him a "great leader" and a "great guy".