Jared Kushner’s Remarks About Gaza’s ‘Waterfront Property’ Resurfaces

Comments made by businessman Jared Kushner about the potential value of “waterfront property” in Gaza have been reposted on social media after his father-in-law, President Trump, suggested the U.S. could “take over” and “own” the war-torn territory on Tuesday.

Trump made the remarks during a press conference on Tuesday with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Washington D.C. News site Puck’s senior correspondent Tara Palmeri reported, citing an unnamed source, that Kushner was “behind” Trump’s proposal that the U.S. take control of Gaza.

Newsweek has not verified this and contacted Kushner for comment via an email to Kushner Companies outside regular office hours. The real estate firm was founded by his father Charles Kushner though he has been actively involved.

Why It Matters

Speaking at Tuesday’s press conference, President Trump said the U.S. would “take over the Gaza Strip” in a “long-term ownership position” and “level it out and create an economic development that will supply unlimited numbers of jobs and housing for the people of the area.”

He said this could become “the Riviera of the Middle East” with “representatives from all over the world” living there, including Palestinians. However, Trump also suggested some of Gaza’s estimated two million residents could be moved out, potentially to Jordan or Egypt if those countries would “open their hearts and give us the kind of land that we need to get this done.”

Any move to place Gaza under direct U.S. control would likely trigger new tensions between Washington and its Arab allies, and could potentially see American troops engulfed in another conflict in the region. However, it would almost certainly receive plaudits from some on the Israeli right.

What To Know

Following Trump’s comments, a number of X (formerly Twitter) users, including New York-based commentator Ryan Rozbiani, posted clips of remarks Kushner made at Harvard University on February 15, 2024.

Rozbiani wrote: “This is Jared Kushner – Trump’s Son in Law talking about waterfront property in Gaza MONTHS AGO. Why are we shocked?”

Kushner, who served as senior foreign policy adviser to Trump during his first administration, said last year: “Gaza’s waterfront property, it could be very valuable if people would focus on kind of building up livelihoods…I think that it’s a little bit of an unfortunate situation there but I think from Israel’s perspective, I would do my best to move the people out and then clean it up.”

On X, citing an anonymous source, Puck’s Palmeri said: “Trump’s idea for the US to take over Gaza was first conceived by Jared Kushner.” She added: “The source said that Kushner was involved in crafting Trump’s prepared remarks. The request did not come Bibi [Netanyahu].”

Trump’s suggestion that the U.S. could take control of Gaza was branded “ridiculous” and “absurd” by Sami Abu Zuhri, an official from Hamas, the militant group that currently controls the territory. Egypt and Jordan have previously said they are strongly opposed to displacing the current Palestinian population from Gaza.

The president’s proposal was welcomed by Netanyahu who described it as “something that could change history and it’s worthwhile really pursuing this area.”

What People Are Saying

According to Reuters, Hamas official Sami Abu Zuhri commented: “Any ideas of this kind are capable of igniting the region.

“Our people in the Gaza Strip will not allow these plans to pass. What is required is an end to the occupation and aggression against our people, not their expulsion from their land.”

According to Jewish Insider’s Congressional reporter Emily Jacobs, Democratic Senator John Fetterman said of Trump’s proposal: “It’s a provocative part of the conversation, but it’s part of the conversation, and that’s where we are. The Palestinians have refused, or they’ve been unwilling to deliver a government that provided security and economic development for themselves.”

On X, political scientist Ian Bremmer wrote: “Taking over Gaza seems nearly as stupid as a twenty year war in Afghanistan.”

Speaking during a press conference last week, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi said: “The solution to this issue is the two-state solution. It is the establishment of a Palestinian state. The solution is not to remove the Palestinian people from their place. No.”

Referring to Trump’s displacement plan during a press conference on January 26, Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman al-Safadi said: “No to displacement. Not only because it is a fixed historical Jordanian national position, but also because any attempt to displace Palestinians from their land will only contribute to undermining security and stability, will not achieve peace, and will not bring security.”

What Happens Next

Any move by the Trump administration to actively pursue the president’s proposal for the U.S. to take direct control of Gaza, displacing the local population, is likely to be strongly resisted by the wider Arab world.

It remains to be seen how U.S. allies like the United Kingdom and those in Europe will respond to Trump’s plan given that some of these countries have condemned Israel over its actions in the Gaza Strip over the past 15 months.

However, Washington does have leverage over Egypt in particular, to which it provides $1.3 billion worth of aid per year, according to Human Rights Watch.

Trump could also run into problems in Congress where the Republicans have only a slim majority in both the Senate and House, meaning a small number of GOP rebels could disrupt his plans.