An article published Sept. 17 in Israel’s YnetGlobal, “Gaza Should Be Turned Into a ‘Real Estate Bonanza,’ Smotrich Says,” reports that Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich addressed the matter of “the day after” in Gaza, saying the territory should be turned into a “real estate bonanza.”
Speaking Sept. 17 at the Urban Renewal Summit hosted by the Real Estate Center and Madlan 2025, Smotrich disclosed that he had “already begun negotiations with the Americans” over such a plan. His statement is the first official confirmation from Israel that the proposal is under discussion.
Smotrich cited what he called a “business plan,” similar to the concept circulating within the Trump administration that envisions Gaza’s reconstruction as a lucrative real estate investment. “This plan was built by the most professional people there are,” he said, alleging that the plan is now sitting on U.S. President Donald Trump’s desk. “We are checking how this becomes a real estate bonanza—I’m not joking—and pays for itself.”
According to Smotrich: “I’ve begun negotiations with the Americans, and I’m saying this seriously, because we paid a lot of money for this war. We need to work out how we share percentages on the land. The demolition phase, the first stage of urban renewal, we’ve already done. Now we need to build.”
YnetGlobal reports, “At the end of August, the Washington Post reported on a Gaza reconstruction plan circulating within the Trump administration. Based on Trump’s pledge to ‘take control’ of the territory, the plan envisions Gaza being placed under U.S. trusteeship for at least 10 years, during which it would be transformed into a glittering tourist resort and a hub for technology and high-tech manufacturing.”
YnetGlobal reports that the plan appears to have been “rebranded as the ‘GREAT Trust’—an acronym for Gaza Reconstitution, Economic Acceleration and Transformation Trust.”
Over the span of nearly two years, the Netanyahu government has duplicitously claimed that it was primarily trying to free the Israeli hostages and destroy Hamas, as the cover for its genocide of the Palestinian people. All the while it is moving to establish its version of “Greater Israel,” with Smotrich and others already referring to the West Bank as “Judea and Samaria.” Smotrich’s thug-like crude remarks, that “we paid a lot for this war,” carried out the “demolition” phase, and now wants a “real estate bonanza” payback, reveal part of what Israel’s, and reportedly the United States’ next steps will be.
