US professor presented Trump team with Gaza relocation and reconstruction plan

U.S. President Donald Trump’s recent proposal to reconstruct Gaza and relocate its residents took much of the international community by surprise. However, George Washington University economics professor, Joseph Pelzman, was not among them, having personally shared a detailed and unconventional Gaza plan with the Trump team as early as July 2024.

The Trump administration viewed Pelzman as a suitable candidate to present the plan due to his expertise in international relations and economics. He also heads the George Washington University Center of Excellence for the Economic Study of the Middle East and North Africa (CEESMENA).

Pelzman’s report “An Economic Plan for Rebuilding Gaza: A BOT Approach,” was later published by the Global World Journal.

“I figured, well, why don’t I write sort of an out-of-the-box perspective on how to fix Gaza after the war is finished,” Pelzman said in an interview with the podcaster Dr. Kobby Barda.

“The paper went to the Trump people because they were the ones who initially had an interest in it – not the Biden people. I was asked [by Trump’s team] to think outside the box on what do we do after [the war], as nobody was really talking about it,” he added.

The Arab world and several leading European nations have strongly rejected Trump’s unconventional plan to relocate Gaza’s two million residents to various countries.

“These are dark days. There is shock and concern following Trump's words,” an unnamed Arab diplomat told Israel's Kan News. “This is the negotiating method of a real estate man, not a statesman. Migration is a red line and there is no room for thinking about it,” the diplomat added. European diplomats have voiced similar objections to the unconventional Trump Gaza plan.

However, in his detailed study, Pelzman concluded that the Gaza Strip has already been devastated economically. Citing World Bank data, he revealed that Gaza’s annual GDP grew by only 0.4% during the period between 2007 to 2022, while the population grew annually by 2.5%. This socio-economic trend resulted in a dramatic decline in Gaza’s annual GDP per capita, leading to widespread poverty under Hamas’ rule. In 2022, Gaza’s unemployment rate had reached 45% and the poverty level reached a whopping 53%.

In comparison, the poverty rate among the Muslim Arab population in Judea and Samaria (West Bank) was only 13% during the same period. The World Bank also concluded that around 50% of Gaza’s 2.4 million residents are homeless as a result of the war in Gaza, which the Hamas terrorist organization initiated on Oct. 7, 2023. Over 60% of the buildings in Gaza that are still standing are severely damaged and no longer considered inhabitable.

“You have to restart it from scratch,” Pelzman argued.

“And then you have an economy which actually has three sectors: you have tourism potential, you have agriculture potential, and then you have – because a lot of them are smart – high-tech,” he continued.

Pelzman explained that his unconventional Gaza plan “started with a three-sector model of Gaza, but it requires that the place be completely emptied out. I mean, literally emptied out, dug up from scratch – and the concrete can be recycled.”

“This is a triangular-sector model, but its implementation requires the area to be completely vacated so that the destroyed concrete can be recycled – ensuring that nothing remains of the vertical construction extending deep underground,” he said.

Looking ahead, Pelzman envisions a financially thriving Gaza that includes “[People’s Republic of China]-styled 30-floor housing units” on the eastern side of the narrow coastal enclave. He also believes Gaza could eventually have a successful agriculture sector using modern greenhouses.

However, he emphasized that his Gaza reconstruction plan hinges on “the complete excavation of the terror tunnels,” crediting the Israeli military for already tackling much of this challenging work.

While Pelzman envisions Gaza's oceanfront as a potential site for exclusive residential buildings, restaurants, and hotels, it is currently unclear whether Trump will be abe to convince any Middle Eastern countries to provide a temporary home for Gaza's population.