When US President Donald Trump mused in February about transforming the devastated Gaza Strip into a glittering "Riviera", many dismissed the idea as another fleeting fantasy. Now, however, this so-called Riviera vision has resurfaced, promoted by individuals like Jared Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law, and former British Prime Minister Tony Blair.

According to Andreas Kluth, a Bloomberg columnist, the plan, circulating in Washington through a real-estate style presentation, proposes placing the Gaza Strip under the control of a body called the GREAT Trust, short for Gaza Reconstruction, Economic Acceleration and Transformation. According to a draft obtained by The Washington Post, this trust would ostensibly turn Gaza into a hub of tourism, technology, and commerce.

Displacement under development guise

The underlying premise of this proposal is the removal of most of the approximately two million Palestinians currently residing in the Gaza Strip. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and members of his cabinet have floated this notion before, reportedly considering the forced displacement of Palestinians to countries such as Libya, South Sudan, and Somaliland.

The GREAT Trust proposal claims that relocations would be “voluntary", offering Palestinians financial incentives, such as $5,000 in cash and food provisions for a year, to leave. Landowners may receive a “digital token", although what that entails remains unclear.

Shibley Telhami, a University of Maryland scholar and advisor to both Republican and Democratic administrations, offered a stark interpretation of the plan: “This particular and insane Riviera idea sounds like a glitzy way to sell ethnic cleansing.” He further noted that, for the first time in his career, he finds himself “scratching [his] head, honestly,” in trying to understand the US Gaza policy.

Telhami contends that Trump’s limited grasp of geopolitical affairs has allowed figures ranging from evangelical leaders like Mike Huckabee to Netanyahu himself to influence Washington’s approach. “Netanyahu is getting what he wants with him,” Telhami said, comparing Trump’s pliability to that seen in dealings with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

This alignment has had broader regional consequences. While Trump initially opposed direct military action against Iran during nuclear negotiations led by Steve Witkoff, Netanyahu proceeded with strikes. Once successful, Trump followed with American airstrikes, an indication of how easily US Middle East policy is swayed by Israeli actions.

Meanwhile, in Gaza, "Israel" has restricted food supplies for most of the year, contributing to conditions that a UN-backed professional body has formally labeled a famine. Trump acknowledged the dire situation, stating it was “real starvation stuff … and you can’t fake that.” Yet, American officials like Huckabee continue to echo the Israeli position, blaming all suffering on the Palestinian Resistance. This alignment has led Washington to break ranks with the UN Security Council by rejecting the famine designation.

Famine, genocide labels, and US denial

The same pattern emerges with accusations of genocide. While an increasing number of legal scholars and international bodies, including the International Association of Genocide Scholars, have adopted the label, the Trump administration continues to reject it.

As allies such as Australia, Canada, France, Portugal, and possibly Belgium prepare to recognize Palestinian statehood, Washington has taken a hardline stance. It has denied visas to Palestinian leaders and boycotted UN gatherings that advocate for a "two-state solution". Despite the fact that the "two-state solution" has long been the stated goal of US Gaza policy, the administration's actions suggest otherwise.

Green lights for 'Israel'

The lack of a consistent policy has created internal turmoil. Shahed Ghoreishi, a State Department press officer and point person for the "Israel"-Palestine file, faced mounting censorship after Trump’s second inauguration.

In one instance, a condolence message for journalists killed in an Israeli airstrike was stripped of content during clearance review. The following day, his attempt to affirm that the US opposes forced displacement in Gaza was also deleted. Finally, when Ghoreishi noticed edits changing “West Bank” to “Judea and Samaria," he intervened, only to be dismissed days later without explanation.

Ghoreishi, who remains neutral on the underlying war, emphasized a growing pattern in Washington: officials were routinely told to defer to the Israeli government. “US policy became that we no longer answer the question,” he said. “We green-light every Israeli policy.”

As "Israel" prepares for a broader military campaign to seize and hold the Gaza Strip, potentially expelling its population, the consequences of an unprincipled and outsourced US Gaza policy are coming into sharp relief. Kluth contends that Trump once vowed to pursue “peace through strength,” not to empower rogue allies to turn Gaza into a wasteland and call it peace.