President’s billionaire property developer friend and son-in-law are at center of ‘deal of a lifetime’ to transform Gaza Strip
How Trump’s Gaza real estate dream took shape
Memphis Barker Senior Foreign Correspondent
05 February 2025 3:12pm GMT
It all seemed clear to Jared Kushner as he discussed the future of Gaza in an interview at Harvard University last February.
“I’m sitting in Miami Beach right now,” he said, referring to the offices of his new investment firm, Affinity Partners, in the coastal Florida city that has witnessed an eruption of skyscrapers and deluxe hotels over the last decade.
Mr Kushner’s 11,000 sq ft headquarters boasts floor-to-ceiling windows, looking out over the waves of the Atlantic Ocean.
Like Miami, Mr Kushner mused that Gaza possessed “very valuable” waterfront property and could become a hub for tourism – if the Gazan people were relocated, at least temporarily, out of the area.
Prof Tarek Masoud, the interview’s host, appeared shocked at the apparently off-hand remarks by Donald Trump’s son-in-law.
“Is there anyone talking about this in Israel?” asked the chairman of the Middle East Initiative, which was hosting the talk. “I don’t know,” Mr Kushner replied, shrugging his shoulders.
Jared Kushner, Donald Trump’s son-in-law and previous envoy to the Middle East, has long held ambitions to redevelop parts of Gaza Credit: Reuters
How Trump’s Gaza real estate dream took shape
Memphis Barker Senior Foreign Correspondent
05 February 2025 3:12pm GMT
It all seemed clear to Jared Kushner as he discussed the future of Gaza in an interview at Harvard University last February.
“I’m sitting in Miami Beach right now,” he said, referring to the offices of his new investment firm, Affinity Partners, in the coastal Florida city that has witnessed an eruption of skyscrapers and deluxe hotels over the last decade.
Mr Kushner’s 11,000 sq ft headquarters boasts floor-to-ceiling windows, looking out over the waves of the Atlantic Ocean.
Like Miami, Mr Kushner mused that Gaza possessed “very valuable” waterfront property and could become a hub for tourism – if the Gazan people were relocated, at least temporarily, out of the area.
Prof Tarek Masoud, the interview’s host, appeared shocked at the apparently off-hand remarks by Donald Trump’s son-in-law.
“Is there anyone talking about this in Israel?” asked the chairman of the Middle East Initiative, which was hosting the talk. “I don’t know,” Mr Kushner replied, shrugging his shoulders.
Jared Kushner, Donald Trump’s son-in-law and previous envoy to the Middle East, has long held ambitions to redevelop parts of Gaza Credit: Reuters 
Fmr. Head of Saudi Arabian Intelligence Reacts to Trump's Proposal for Gaza | Amanpour and Company
Trump is banking on rich Arab countries and kingdoms to support and implement his vision.
- Qatar, the main regional mediator, has already said it plans to help rebuild Gaza — while the Palestinians remain on their land.
- The United States wants normalization between Israel and Saudi Arabia, but the Saudi foreign minister has also rejected the Trump plan.
On Tuesday morning, after Mr Trump announced strikingly similar plans to turn Gaza into the “Riviera of the Middle East”, the world was barely talking about anything else.
Flabbergasted analysts wondered whether Mr Trump, a braggadocious real estate developer who cut his teeth in 1980s New York, was simply dreaming of the deal of a lifetime, or proffering a madcap scheme to distract the attention of the world’s media.
But Mr Trump’s own words – and his choice of key Middle East advisers – suggest months, if not years, of forethought. A cat may have been thrown on the table, but this one is alive and clawing. . .
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