Tel Aviv, MINA – Israel’s far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich has said his government is coordinating with the US President Donald Trump on a plan to turn the Gaza Strip into a “real estate bonanza”.
Speaking at an urban renewal conference in Tel Aviv on Wednesday, Smotrich claimed Israel had already carried out the first stage of urban renewal by demolishing much of Gaza during the ongoing war and was now preparing plans to rebuild, Quds News reported.
“We have paid a lot of money for this war. Now we have to see how we are dividing up the land in percentages,” he said, adding that a “business plan” had been drafted by Israeli professionals and was already on President Trump’s desk.”
Smotrich, a leading figure in Israel’s far-right coalition, insisted the project “will pay off” and confirmed that negotiations with the United States had begun.
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His remarks come months after Trump announced in February that the U.S. would “take over” Gaza and transform it into the “Riviera of the Middle East,” while relocating Palestinians abroad, a proposal widely condemned by Palestinians, Arab states, and much of the international community.
In July, Smotrich addressed a Knesset conference titled “Gaza Riviera: From Vision to Reality,” where participants presented plans to re-establish illegal Israeli settlements in the enclave. At the time, he declared that Gaza would become an inseparable part of the State of Israel and claimed Trump supported his vision.
A post-war reconstruction blueprint circulating in Washington earlier this month outlined similar ambitions, including luxury resorts, artificial islands, and Dubai-style development. The plan suggested Palestinians would be paid around $5,000 each to leave Gaza, raising fears of mass displacement and land expropriation.
The proposal, first reported by the Financial Times and later published in full by The Washington Post, is reportedly led by Israeli-American venture capitalist Michael Eisenberg and Israeli tech entrepreneur and former intelligence officer Liran Tancman. The pair were previously linked to the controversial Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, criticized in late 2023 for seeking to leverage Gaza’s crisis for profit.[]
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