US Drafts Plan To Turn Gaza Into Futuristic Resort - Reports

MOSCOW, Dec 20 (Bernama-Sputnik/RIA Novosti) -- United States (US) President Donald Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, and US special envoy Steve Witkoff have presented a draft reconstruction plan for Gaza to potential investors, Sputnik/RIA Novosti reported, citing a report by The Wall Street Journal.

The blueprint of the futuristic resort called "Project Sunrise," drafted by Kushner and Witkoff, could have Washington commit about 20 per cent of some Gaza reconstruction costs over ten years, the newspaper said on Friday.

"Project Sunrise" envisions Gaza as a high-tech metropolis with beachside luxury resorts, high-speed rail, and AI-optimised smart grids. However, the draft reconstruction plan makes no mention of where two million Palestinians will live while the project is being implemented, according to the newspaper.

Kushner and Witkoff have presented the draft project to potential investors and foreign governments, including Turkey and Egypt, The Wall Street Journal said.

In November, economist of the Assistance to the Palestinian People Unit of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) Rami Alazzeh said that the process of clearing the territory of the Gaza Strip of unexploded ammunition may take up to 10 years. If the rubble removal proceeds at the same level, it may take about 22 years to get rid of the rubble in the Gaza Strip, the coordinator of UNCTAD's program supporting the Palestinian people, Mutasim Elagraa, said.

In October, Special Representative for the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Program of Assistance to the Palestinian People Jaco Cilliers said that, according to UNPD estimates, at least 50 million tonnes of rubble must be removed in Gaza. Reconstruction of the Gaza Strip requires US$70 billion, Cilliers added.

-- BERNAMA-SPUTNIK/RIA NOVOSTI