The “Gaza Riviera” plan is described by an analyst as an example of “vulture capitalism,” a model it defines as targeting “deeply distressed assets then extracting maximum value , often leaving the original stakeholders impoverished.”
US President Donald Trump’s controversial “Gaza Riviera” proposal is an immoral and evil plan to extract wealth and ethnically cleanse and dispossess Palestinians, according to a report published by the Ayaan Institute, a think-tank based in the UK.
Trump’s proposal, which forms part of his long term plan for Palestine, envisages a “Riviera of the Middle East”. Made public in early 2025, it envisioned transforming the besieged and bombarded territory into a high-end, prosperous coastal city.
However, Ayaan’s analyis of the plan highlights several controversial components with the project.
Ayaan Institute’s Jahangir Mohammed, who produced an analysis of the “Gaza Riviera” proposal, argues that the framework raises significant political, economic and ethical concerns.
Mohammed believe the beneath its projection of bing about reconstruction and peace-building endeavours, in reality the plan is a “mode of wealth extraction and dispossession”.
The plan, according to Ayaan, frames large-scale destruction as an investment opportunity, but risks treating Palestinians as “obstacles or a right-less labour force”.
The report describes the “Gaza Riviera” plan as an example of “vulture capitalism,” a model it defines as targeting “deeply distressed assets — companies or economies on the brink of collapse — acquiring control at a low price, and then extracting maximum value through aggressive cost-cutting, asset-stripping, and restructuring, often leaving the original stakeholders impoverished.”
The “Gaza Riviera” plan does the opposite of what it presents itself to do – that being a genuine framework for post-conflict reconstruction, peace-building, or humanitarian recovery.
Mohammed believes that the plan is less of a plan for peace, and more of a blueprint for turning genocide, destruction, and displacement into an investment opportunity.
“Profiting from genocide is immoral and evil, and it must be confronted as such,” he believes.
In his analysis which is based on publicly reported and leaked material, the Mohammed argues that Palestinian representation will be ignored, with a corporate-style governance structure running the project.
Among the principal issues of the “Gaza Riviera” plan is the controversial Board of Peace (BoP), which is an international organisation aimed at promoting peacekeeping, established by US President Donald Trump.
According to the paper, the BoP operates through a proposed $1 billion “pay-to-play” membership model, which would place decision-making authority largely in the hands of wealthy external states and private investors.
The report also points to a proposal offering $5,000 relocation payments to Palestinians, which it argues could incentivise displacement and create what it describes as a “blank slate for redevelopment.”
The Ayaan Institute’s report revealed that this specific strategy saves the trust $23,000 for each displaced person.