Even with Gaza under siege, some imagine its reconstruction
Trade, tourism are envisioned for a ravaged land
On a December morning in central London, more than two dozen people drawn from influential institutions across the Middle East, Europe, and the United States gathered in a conference room to pursue an aspiration that, at that moment, verged on preposterous. They were there to plan for the reconstruction and economic development of the Gaza Strip.
Gaza was under relentless bombardment by Israeli military forces in response to terrorist attacks launched by Hamas in October. Communities throughout the territory were being reduced to rubble, and tens of thousands of people had been killed.
Yet at the meeting in London, members of the international establishment discussed how to eventually transform Gaza from a place defined by isolation and poverty into a Mediterranean commercial hub centered on trade, tourism, and innovation, yielding a middle class.
The group included senior officials from American and European economic development agencies, executives from Middle Eastern finance and construction companies, and two partners from the international consulting firm McKinsey & Co. Officially, they were attending only as individuals, not as representatives of their institutions.
The plan they produced is far removed from the dire reality confronting Gaza today. Turning it into reality would require the end of a war that has left the territory devastated, to say nothing of tens of billions of dollars in investment. It would also demand resolution to the monumental and entirely uncertain political question of who eventually controls Gaza, and then the cooperation of that authority. All of that makes the plan well short of a blueprint for action.
Yet participants maintain that the mere exercise of mapping out a more prosperous future holds value because it can prepare the way for projects once conditions are suitable. That was a notion that propelled such planning in conflict zones such as Kuwait after it was invaded by Iraq and Ukraine.
“We are proposing to connect Gaza to the world over the long term,” said Chris Choa, founder and director of Outcomist, a London firm that designs largescale urban development projects, and one of the initial conveners of the group, known as Palestine Emerging.
Among those involved are Hashim Shawa, chairperson of the Bank of Palestine, a commercial bank; Samer Khoury, CEO of Consolidated Contractors International, a construction company engaged in major projects across the Middle East; and Mohammed Abukhaizaran, a board member of the Arab Hospitals Group, a medical provider in the West Bank. All would potentially have a stake in the eventual work of rebuilding.
“As soon as the war started, my team and I started developing a plan to build a facility in Gaza as soon as the war ends,” Abukhaizaran said.
The group is clear that the most pressing work is the delivery of food, water, health care, and emergency shelter to the residents of Gaza, who are now contending with catastrophe. But the primary focus of their plan is on the rebuilding that would unfold over the following decades.
“The Gaza war needs to end immediately, and there will be an incredible and immediate humanitarian effort,” said Abukhaizaran. “But we also need to think long term about building a better future for Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank.”
The initiative, one of several under discussion, has gained the interest and advice of major international funding organizations including the World Bank, said a senior agency official who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk publicly. The bank views the plan as a useful contribution toward a strategy that could generate jobs in Gaza by integrating the territory into the global economy.
Representatives of US government agencies have attended Palestine Emerging workshops and offered counsel on the details of the plan, a senior US official said, also speaking on condition that they not be named. American engagement with the initiative has been driven by the assumption that greater economic opportunity in Gaza is necessary to undercut popular support for Hamas, the official added.
The plan centers on a series of major projects, including a deep-water port, a desalination plant to provide drinking water, an online health care service, and a transportation corridor connecting Gaza with the West Bank. A fund for reconstruction and development would oversee future undertakings.
While visions of modern transportation systems may now seem tangential to Gaza’s essential needs, the plan is governed by the assumption that even temporary structures like emergency housing and health care facilities must be thoughtfully placed to avoid squandering future possibilities.