By Olivier Acuña Barba •
Published: 31 Aug 2025 • 20:04
• 2 minutes read
Donald Trump’s Administration has a postwar plan for Gaza called the “Gaza Reconstitution, Economic Acceleration and Transformation Trust (GREAT), a plan that would turn the Palestinian strip into a “trusteeship” controlled by the United States for ten years, the Washington Post reported Sunday, August 31.
The 38-page prospectus seen and reported by The Washington Post envisions at least a temporary relocation of all of Gaza’s more than 2 million population, either through what it calls “voluntary” departures to another country or into restricted, secured zones inside the enclave during reconstruction.
The trust would offer those who own land a digital token (potentially Trump’s token?) in exchange for rights to redevelop their property, to be used to finance a new life elsewhere or eventually redeemed for an apartment in one of six to eight new “AI-powered, smart cities” to be built in Gaza. Palestinians who choose to leave would each receive a $5,000 cash payment and subsidies to cover four years of rent elsewhere, as well as a year of food, according to The Washington Post. The plan estimates that every individual departure from Gaza would save the trust $23,000, compared with the cost of temporary housing and what it calls “life support” services in the secure zones for those who stay.
Trump’s ‘Riviera of the Middle East’
People familiar with trust planning and administration conversations over post-war Gaza spoke about the sensitive subject on the condition of anonymity, the US influential news outlet said.
“The White House referred questions to the State Department, which declined to comment. BCG has said that work on the trust plan was not expressly approved and that two senior partners who led the financial modelling were subsequently fired,” it added.
The Washington Post also stated that it is unclear whether the detailed and comprehensive GREAT Trust proposal is what Trump has in mind. However, significant parts of the plan, according to two people familiar with it, were explicitly designed to make real the president’s vision of a “Riviera of the Middle East.”
The most appealing part of GREAT for the US is that it would not require government funding and would not rely on donations. Instead, the plan would be financed by public and private-sector investment in mega projects, including the development of smart cities, electric vehicle plants, data centres, beach resorts, and high-rise apartments.
Trump’s humanitarian motives?
On August 27, Trump held a White House meeting to discuss ideas for ending the war, now approaching its second anniversary, and what would follow in the post-war period. Attendees included Secretary of State Marco Rubio and special presidential envoy Steve Witkoff; former British prime minister Tony Blair, whose views on Gaza’s future have been sought by the Trump Administration, and Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, who handled much of the president’s first-term initiatives on the Middle East and has extensive private interests in the region.
“It is a very comprehensive plan we are putting together on the next day (in Gaza),” Witkoff told Fox News’ “Special Reporting with Bret Baier” before a policy meeting regarding Gaza that was held last week. “Many people are going to see how robust it is and how well-meaning it is, and how it reflects President Trump’s humanitarian motives here.” Trump had previously proposed a complete US takeover of Gaza alongside the permanent displacement of Palestinians from the coastal territory. However, following global opposition and the plan being described as “ethnic cleansing” by the UN and other experts, the original framework of the idea was abandoned.
