Jared Kushner Unveils Controversial 'Free Market Gaza' Vision at Davos

United States President Donald Trump’s son-in-law and Middle East adviser, Jared Kushner, a member of the “Gaza Board of Peace,” unveiled the “Free Market Gaza” vision at the World Economic Forum in Davos on Thursday, January 22. The visuals of this ambitious plan have come under severe criticism and have been likened to a real estate brochure.

Kushner outlined the plan during the signing of the charter for Trump’s “Board of Peace.” The Free Market Gaza vision requires an investment of USD 25 billion. Speaking at the event, Kushner emphasized the need for de-escalation and demilitarization, stating, “Obviously, we are working with Israelis to figure out a way through de-escalation. And the next phase is working with Hamas and demilitarization.”

Without security, nobody is going to make investments, he added. A free market economy, defined by limited government control and market-driven product prices, forms the core of Kushner’s vision. The plan heavily relies on the idea of a “developed Gaza,” open for investments to rebuild the war-torn city.

The plan, using free market principles, includes various future project ideas such as the construction of an airport, “coastal tourism,” and residential neighborhoods. Some of these elements, like the Yasser Arafat International Airport, existed before the intensification of Israeli military action in Gaza in 2023. The airport, which opened in 1998 as a symbol of Palestinian sovereignty, ceased operations in 2001 after being destroyed by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF).

“We want to use free market economy principles. A lot of what President Trump spoke about was what he’s doing in America; we want to bring the same mindset, the same approach to a place like Gaza,” Kushner said in his address. The approach, he claimed, is to give the people of Gaza the “ability to thrive and have a good life.”

The “Free Market Gaza” plan envisions the central areas becoming residential neighborhoods, along with industrial zones, including data centers and advanced manufacturing facilities. A further USD 3 billion investment fund is designated for commercial zones, business districts, and grants to stimulate local enterprise.

In a slide deck titled “New Rafah,” Kushner suggested that 100,000 housing units would be built in the southern city, alongside over 200 educational centers, 75 medical centers, and 180 cultural, religious, and vocational centers. Kushner predicted that by 2035, Gaza’s GDP would reach USD 10 billion, and the annual household income would exceed USD 13,000.

“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.” However, this timeline is at odds with the United Nations and Palestinians, who expect a much longer process to rehabilitate Gaza. The territory, home to roughly 2 million people, is currently filled with rubble, unexploded ordnance, and disease-spreading sewage-tainted water.

Critics of the “Free Market Gaza” vision have been vocal. Palestinian-American writer Susan Abulhawa said the plan seeks to “erase Gaza’s indigenous character, turn what remains of her people into a cheap labor force to manage their ‘industrial zones’ and create an exclusive coastline for ‘tourism.’” Activist and former Member of the National Assembly of South Africa, Andrew Feinstein, compared it to building a city on “graves.”

“Imagine the son-in-law of the US President presenting a ‘vision and plan’ for a shiny city with resorts on the ruins of Auschwitz or Theresienstadt, where dozens of my mother’s family and tens of thousands of others were slaughtered. And from which he will personally benefit,” Feinstein posted on X, calling it repulsive and inhuman.

The “Free Market Gaza” vision has sparked significant debate and criticism, highlighting the complex and sensitive nature of efforts to rebuild and develop the Gaza Strip.