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Seth Gladstone, sgladstone@fwwatch.org, 917-363-6615
Local and national advocacy leaders and affected individuals held a press conference at City Hall in Philadelphia on Sunday July 24th, 11:30 am before being joined by over ten thousand concerned Americans at 1 pm for the March for a Clean Energy Revolution. Convened by Americans Against Fracking, which called for a nationwide ban on fracking and major investment in renewable energy. The march was endorsed by more than 900 environmental, health, labor, political, faith, justice, indigenous and student organizations from every state.
Advocacy leaders and individuals harmed by fracking called on the nation's current and future leaders to ban fracking now, keep fossil fuels in the ground, stop dirty energy, transition to 100% renewable energy, and ensure environmental justice for all.
"As the first national organization in America to call for a ban on fracking, Food & Water Watch has seen the movement expand dramatically, becoming a major issue in the battle over the Democratic nomination for the presidency. Today, after listening to the science, more Americans are opposed to fracking than support it. Our elected leaders must listen to the people, which is why over a thousand groups from all 50 states endorsed the March for a Clean Energy Revolution and called for the need to keep fossil fuels in the ground and focus on renewable energy options that will create jobs, not destroy lives," said Wenonah Hauter, Founder & Executive Director, Food & Water Watch.
The most recent Gallup poll, from March 2016, shows that Americans oppose fracking 51-36%. https://www.gallup.com/poll/190355/opposition-fracking-mounts.aspx
"I am honored to welcome the march to our great city and to join the urgent call to free our country from its addiction to fossil fuels. Cities and elected officials cannot sleepwalk their way through a climate crisis that threatens not only our future but also our current way of life. We have a responsibility and opportunity to rebuild cities like Philadelphia through clean, just, and sustainable energy solutions," said Helen Gym, Philadelphia City Councilmember.
"Climate change is already causing conflicts and crises around the world, from Louisiana to Syria. That's why the peace and justice community marched today with our allies in the climate and environmental justice movement. We need to make giant leaps towards a clean energy economy and put an end to the viscous cycle of dirty wars, climate refugees, and reliance on dirty energy. The world and its inhabitants can no longer afford to suffer from poverty, illness, and racial discrimination due to wars on our people and the planet," said Alesha Vega, Assistant Director, Coalition for Peace Action.
"We are marching to demand an end to fracking and other dangerous drilling practices that rely on toxic chemicals and are linked to an array of deadly diseases and disorders. As health professionals, public health experts and people concerned with protecting health, we are gravely concerned about the mounting scientific evidence showing that these chemicals are regularly contaminating the water, the air, and ultimately our bodies. It's time our leaders commit to a clean energy future which does not jeopardize good health and public safety," said Karuna Jaggar, Executive Director, Breast Cancer Action.
"For far too long Indigenous Peoples' voices have been silenced and erased. Most especially when it comes to extreme extraction practices such as fracking. No longer will I stand by and watch that happen. I am here to share my Voice for my Family, for my People, for our youth and most importantly for Mother Earth. Now, more than ever, is the time to use our Voices to heal, protect and thrive!" said Krystal Rain Two Bulls, Oglala Lakota/Northern Cheyenne.
"We've just wrapped up a Republican National Convention filled with climate denial and extreme energy talking points. Tomorrow we start the Democratic Convention, and the question to all these leaders and politicians is: Are you willing to take the action that science demands, or are you just another kind of climate denier? Science tells us we need to keep 80% or more of fossil fuels in the ground: that means a ban on fracking, a halt to dirty trade deals like the TPP, and no more use of eminent domain for polluter gain. I'm marching today to tell all elected officials, if you're not down to #KeepItInTheGround, you're just another climate denier," said Drew Hudson, Director of Environmental Action.
"The good news about moving quickly to 100% renewables is not only is it feasible with existing technology, but it will create good-paying jobs, reduce illness and death from air pollution, and result in lower energy bills compared to continued reliance on fossil fuels. We need the US to become a world leader in offshore wind, solar and conservation," said Mark Dunlea, 350NYC and 100% Renewables Now NY Campaign.
"Science is the grand marshall of the March for a Clean Energy Revolution. As science advisor for Americans Against Fracking and a co-founder if Concerned Health Professionals of New York, I've reviewed hundreds of studies that reveal that fossil fuels, including fracked gas, are not safe for human health nor for the climate. It's time for our elected leaders to lift up their heads, turn off the industry noise machine, and and listen to the data. It's time for bold action to ban fracking, gas power plants, and new pipelines and move rapidly to 100% renewable energy," said Sandra Steingraber, noted biologist, author, activist and science advisor to the Americans Against Fracking Coalition.
"The climate crisis is already having a substantial, harmful effect on public health in the spread of vector-borne diseases, accelerating pollution, malnutrition linked to drought induced food loss, rising sea levels, and extreme weather events, as well as the existential threat to our children, our future, and our planet. The time for words has long passed, we must act now. Air pollution from fossil fuel production and consumption kills millions of mostly working class and poor people of color around the world," said Martha Kuhl, RN, Secretary Treasurer, National Nurses United.
"Unions represent workers around the world who will be instrumental in responding to the growing climate crisis and enabling the shift to a clean energy economy. However, we are also deeply concerned about ensuring a just transition for workers and their communities, and about environmental justice and the unequal and discriminatory impacts of climate change. Unions represent millions of organized workers across the United States and as such have a tremendous potential to confront the unbridled greed that is driving us to environmental disaster. We must be involved in this fight for our members, our families, our neighbors and our country," said Jon Forster, AFSCME Local 375/DC37.
"We're joining the March for a Clean Energy Revolution to stop the TPP and other bad trade deals. If the TPP is ratified this fall, it will supersede the Paris Climate Treaty and prevent us from taking the actions we need to transition rapidly to the clean energy economy by giving corporations power over our laws and our courts. The TPP makes profit more important than human health and safety and protection of the planet. We are rising together to call for a new model of trade that respects the planet and all life," said Margaret Flowers, Stop the TPP
"The inFRACKstructure contingent of our March for a Clean Energy Revolution includes communities harmed and threatened by the growing number of pipelines, compressors, LNG exports facilities, oil trains, and new gas powerplants that are cutting through our communities and environment in order to service the dirty fossil fuel industry and fracked shale. This infrackstructure is inflicting devastating harm on our health and environment, and locking us into a dirty energy future. All of this damage is unnecessary because clean energy options are here today and are better able to support our energy, job, community and environmental goals. We are coming to Philadelphia to demand our political leaders from all parties put an end to dirty fossil fuels and its infrackstructure and commit to clean energy now," said Maya van Rossum, the Delaware Riverkeeper and leader of the Delaware Riverkeeper Network.
"In order to secure a livable future for our generation, we need to a grassroots movement that's equipped to win strategic local fights," said Lydia Avila, Executive Director of the Power Shift Network, the organization behind Power Shift- a convergence of hundreds of young climate activists taking place in Philadelphia this weekend. "Young people came out this weekend because we want our decision-makers and future decision-makers to know that we are going to be holding them accountable for implementing strong climate policies that will create the just and healthy planet we all deserve."
"Over one quarter of children in Philadelphia have asthma, primarily in lower income communities of color. We have the right to breathe, but corporations like the Philadelphia Energy Solutions oil refinery are poisoning us. We need our elected officials like Governor Wolf to stand up to the dirty energy industry and say no to expansion of oil and gas at the Southport site in Philadelphia!" said Teresa Hill, ACTION United.
Pennsylvanians, in particular, called on Governor Tom Wolf, a DNC Host Committee Honorary Chair, to stop harming those who live in Pennsylvania, where the fracking industry has developed more than 9,000 wells in Pennsylvania in just the past decade.
"Sunoco Logistics felled our trees, but the government that let them do it took down Democracy. What happened to my family should be a wake-up call to all Pennsylvanians that they could be next, that the Wolf administration will always put the industry's interests over theirs," said Elise Gerhart, Huntingdon County landowner whose family lost the woods on their property to the Sunoco Mariner East pipeline.
At 1 pm, over ten thousand advocates began the one-mile march at City Hall. They carried hand-painted signs and chanted demands down Market St. Final action and chants were held at Independence Hall. The day concluded with an enormous artistic display, transforming a drill rig into a sun.
Background
The March for a Clean Energy Revolution comes on the heels of a Johns Hopkins study, published July 18 in JAMA Internal Medicine, found that people with asthma who live near bigger or larger numbers of active unconventional natural gas wells operated by the fracking industry in Pennsylvania are 1.5 to four times likelier to have asthma attacks than those who live farther away.
The study on fracking and asthma comes about a year after a comprehensive study linking premature births and at-risk pregnancies to fracking. Data on over 10,000 pregnancies in Pennsylvania from 2009 to 2013 showed odds of premature births increased 40% when expectant mothers live in heavily fracked communities.The vast majority of studies find risks and harms; a recent peer-reviewed study analyzing all of the relevant peer-reviewed literature found that, "the great majority of science contains findings that indicate concerns for public health, air quality and water quality."
Food & Water Watch mobilizes regular people to build political power to move bold and uncompromised solutions to the most pressing food, water, and climate problems of our time. We work to protect people's health, communities, and democracy from the growing destructive power of the most powerful economic interests.
(202) 683-2500"We do not live in a system that is broken. We live in a system that is functioning exactly as it is intended," said Graham Platner, running for US Senate. "We live in a system that has been built by the political class to enrich and support billionaires on the backs of working people."
Sen. Bernie Sanders headlined a Labor Day rally in downtown Portland, Maine on Monday as part of his ongoing "Fighting Oligarchy" tour, where he joined hands in solidarity with the two candidates—Troy Jackson and Graham Platner—both of whom embrace the Vermont independent's democratic socialist message and a critique that argues concentrated wealth and power have corrupted both major political parties at the expense of working people.
Platner, an oysterman from the small coastal town of Sullivan seeking to win the Democratic primary in order to challenge Republican Sen. Susan Collins in 2026, launched his campaign last month by stating flatly that "the oligarchy is the enemy."
During his remarks Monday at the Cross Insurance Arena, Platner brought the crowd of over 6,500 people to their feet multiple times by blasting the ruling class and lamenting the struggle of too many Maine families.
"Politicians have made a series of decisions over the last 40 years that have resulted in the world that we see today. Their choices have left many of us with very little while, very few accrue vast amounts of wealth," he declared. "In 1990, there were less than 100 billionaires in the United States—today there are over 800. I ask you: when you look around, do you see a community and a state that is eight times wealthier than it was in 1990?"
Sanders rally with Graham Platner and Troy Jackson
"Much of the world that we have today is the specific result of policy choices made by establishment politicians. And the shameful truth of all of this is the blame cannot simply be left at the feet of one political party," said Platner. "We have two parties that want the votes of working people, but neither has done anything lately to earn it. No one is owed allegiance. Support must be earned and that will never happen as long as Democrats are part of the same corporate apparatus that the Republicans are."
Platner's bid against Collins, who has held the seat in the US Senate since 1997, is seen by some political observers as a long shot, but Platner was emphatic that voters in Maine are no longer fooled by what he described as her political "charade" in which she postures as a moderate while backing President Donald Trump's far-right, pro-corporate agenda.
"No one cares that you pretend to be remorseful as you sell out to lobbyists," Planter said of Collins. "No one cares while you sell out to corporations and no one cares while you sell out to a president who are all engineering the greatest redistribution of wealth,—from the working class to the ruling class—in American history."
"Symbolic opposition does not reopen hospitals," he continued, referencing the destruction repercussions of Collins' support for the GOP megabill earlier this year that will strip hundreds of billions from Medicaid. "Weak condemnations do not bring back Roe v. Wade. Sellling out the same working class voters who've delivered mandate for change after mandate for change is not forgivable. A performative politics that enables the destruction of our way of life is disqualifying for the role of United States Senator."
Platner drove home his message that the ruling class, both in Maine and nationwide, is at the heart of the struggles and challenged the idea that voters don't understand the term "oligarchy"—something that segments of the Democratic Party establishment have argued as Sanders toured the country this summer with his message.
"I keep getting told that voters don't know what that word means," said Platner. "But from the standing ovation, I assume everybody knows what it means because we know what's happening when we're getting robbed blind. But let's be clear, we do not live in a system that is broken. We live in a system that is functioning exactly as it is intended. We live in a system that has been built by the political class to enrich and support billionaires on the backs of working people."
The state of Maine, he declared amid a standing ovation, "deserves better than Susan Collins and Maine deserves an alternative who is not at risk of being mistaken as being beholden to the same status quo that she is. I am running because it is time for change."
Planter vowed to "beat back fascism," called for defense of democracy, and said people must embrace a notion of freedom that goes beyond a "romantic freedom"—one that recognizes the affordability crisis that makes life so difficult for working people.
What people need, he said, is a "freedom to not be condemned to scraps and to struggle, but to live with the dignity and fulfillment that gives us the society we deserve. Where instead of dreaming of a life where we can get by, we can afford a life that allows us to dream."
Following Platner, Troy Jackson, a seventh-generation logger from northern Maine who turned to politics on a working-class platform and rose to become president of the State Senate, is among those seeking to become the next governor of Maine when Gov. Janet Mills, also a Democrat, leaves office next year.
"I'm running because it's time to put power back in the hands of the people," said Jackson, after recounting his days in the woods, struggling to provide for his family while the wealthy owners of the logging companies grew ever richer and ever greedier.
"I'm running for governor because the American dream of putting down roots and owning a home and being able to provide for your family with a good-paying job is moving way out of reach," said Jackson. "I am running for the people who worked their entire lives and still can't afford to retire because the economic system in this country is rigged against them. And I'm running for all the workers who've been told to do or go home who've been told that they're replaceable and that their lives are disposable."
Like Platner, Jackson railed against the "status quo" and while he credited Democrats in the state for doing many important things over recent years, also admitted the party had fallen "woefully short" on many issues.
During his speech to conclude the rally, Sanders said this year's Labor Day comes at a perilous time in US history, with Trump's authoritarianism coinciding—and not coincidentally—with obscene levels of economic and political inequality.
Sanders said that the hundreds of thousands of people he has now spoken to as part of the "Fighting Oligarchy" tour have made it clear to him that there is a shared set of beliefs that can overturn the assault on democracy and working people that Trump is now leading.
"We have been to 15 states—and now I can say from Maine to California and a lot of states in between. And we've talked to over 300,000 people," said Sanders. "And what I can tell you without any fear of contradiction is the American people do not want an oligarchic form of government."
"They do not want to live under a kleptocracy where a president gets rich by being president and they sure as hell a sick and tired of the ongoing war of the rich against the working class of this country," he continued. "This is an unprecedented and, in fact, dangerous moment in American history and we have got to respond in an unprecedented way. And the way we respond is to build the kind of strong, progressive grassroots movement, the likes of which this country has never seen."
Echoing Platner, Sanders said that simply denouncing and confronting the Republicans will not be enough to turn the tide.
"What we need to do—which the Democratic Party, the leadership does not do—is have a vision of where we want this country to be," said Sanders.
"What I am begging of you is don't think small, think big," he continued, championing Medicare for All, robust support for public education, an end to disastrous US foreign policy—including support for the Israeli assault on Gaza, an expansion of Social Security, and serious efforts to curb rising food costs and the housing crisis that is crushing working people from coast to coast.
"Brothers and sisters, we got to be thinking outside the box in this state. We got to elect Graham and we got to elect Troy and other good people, but they can't do it alone," said Sanders.
The trick of the ruling class, he told the crowd, is "they basically try to say that ordinary people are powerless."
"What they're saying is they have all the money, they have all of the power, you got nothing. And they can do anything they want and you can't stop them," Sanders continued. "Well, I think we've got some news for them. Not only can we stop them, not only will we stop them, but for the future of this country and in fact the world, we must, must stop them today."
"On Labor Day—when we thank the unions for all they have done for the working class of this country—we understand and remember what a union is," he concluded. "A union is the understanding that one person cannot do it alone. That we all have got to come together to fight with and for each other. And what the union movement is about is solidarity forever."
"Workers are fighting for a society where public schools take precedence over private profits, healthcare is prioritized over hedge funds, and affordable housing is valued more than homelessness," said May Day Strong.
This is a developing story... Please check back for possible updates.
Americans turned out across the United States on Monday for more than 1,000 demonstrations against President Donald Trump and other oligarchs "to reclaim worker power against billionaires who hoard unprecedented wealth and power."
The "Workers Over Billionaires" protests are being led by the May Day Strong Coalition, which is made up of dozens of organizations including the AFL-CIO, American Federation of Teachers, National Union of Healthcare Workers, and advocacy groups like Americans for Tax Fairness, Indivisible, Our Revolution, and Public Citizen.
Demonstrations took place or are set to happen in big cities, small towns, and communities in between all across the nation. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) spoke at a rally in Concord, New Hampshire, where Sanders—whose "Fight Oligarchy Tour" has been drawing huge crowds across the country—vowed that "together, we will create an economy and government that work for all, not just the 1%."
Khanna said that "today on Labor Day, we must recognize the workers across the country who build our economy and strengthen our nation. We need to fight for a living wage and stronger unions as we work to reindustrialize America."
Sanders took his Fighting Oligarchy Tour to Portland, Maine on Monday, where he was joined by guests including Graham Platner, an oyster farmer who is running to unseat five-term Republican US Sen. Susan Collins.
In a video posted on the social media site Bluesky before the rally, Platner said he "could not think of a better day to be a pro-labor candidate."
"Organized labor is the basis of the movement that we are going to have to build to retake this country for working people," Platner added.
May Day Strong said Monday's mobilizations aim "to build collective action against billionaires taking over the US government."
"Building upon momentum from May Day, Good Trouble Lives On, No Kings, and key impromptu actions in the streets and the workplace, Workers Over Billionaires will reach communities nationwide, tapping rural and city workers to stop the billionaire agenda that continues to burden everyone," the coalition said. "As the federal government continues to enable the ultrarich, working people are stepping onto pavement to stop their greed and protect their families."
"Working families want to live in a country that puts workers over billionaires," the coalition added. "Workers are fighting for a society where public schools take precedence over private profits, healthcare is prioritized over hedge funds, and affordable housing is valued more than homelessness."
In New York, actions included a rally outside Trump Tower in Manhattan, where demonstrators demanded a $30 an hour minimum wage. Members of groups including One Fair Wage (OFW) staged a "Restaurant in the Street" demonstration "designed to highlight the struggle of working people and launch the New York Living Wage for All campaign."
"The action coincides with the release of a new OFW report, Making America Affordable Now: The Case for a Living Wage for All, which finds that nearly half of US workers—67 million people—earn less than $25 an hour," One Fair Wage said. "In New York, 41% of workers fall below that threshold."
OFW said that the demand for a living wage is the "next generation of the Fight for $15," warning that "past wage gains have been erased by historic inflation, skyrocketing rents, and cuts to Medicaid and SNAP," the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.
"It also highlights how gimmicks like Trump's 'No Tax on Tips' proposal do little to address workers' needs, since two-thirds of tipped workers earn too little to benefit," OFW added.
In Chicago, at least hundreds of people from dozens of groups including the Chicago Teachers Union, Teamsters, and healthcare and hospitality workers rallied against Trump's Project 2025-inspired evisceration of federal agencies and the social safety net.
Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson denounced Trump's threat to send federal forces into the Windy City in a similar occupation to the one underway in Washington, DC, leading chants of "No troops in Chicago! No troops in Chicago! Invest in Chicago!"
American Federation of Teachers president Randi Weingarten told Chicago protesters that "what has happened in this country is that the billionaires don't understand this country was created in protest and resistance to fight off a king, not to recreate a king."
Chicago protester Mark Petersen told NBC Chicago: "I think solidarity among workers is probably the most important thing we can do right now. We're looking at our country get disassembled from the top down, and the best thing we can do is unite from the bottom up."
Hotel workers at the Hilton Americas-Houston downtown went on strike before dawn Monday, demanding a $23 hourly minimum wage. They kicked off their planned nine-day strike with a protest at 6:00 am, during which workers chanted, "Aquí estamos, y no nos vamos"—"We are here, and we won't leave."
"The workers are feeling this need urgently," Franchesca Caraballo, president of Unite Here Local 23's Texas chapter. "We have to take it up several notches here to turn up the pressure on this company."
In Indianapolis, marchers chanted, "No fascists, support unions, support workers."
AFL-CIO president Liz Shuler said ahead of the protests: "Every single thing working people have won for ourselves in this country's history—it's not because we asked those in power. It's not because they were handed to us. It's because we fought for them relentlessly."
Saqib Bhatti, executive director of Action Center on Race and the Economy (ACRE), told USA Today that "it's important to show that there is opposition to the Trump-billionaire agenda in every community, big and small; it's not just cities that are united against what's happening... it's all towns, it's small towns that voted overwhelmingly for Trump."
Monday also saw the launch of the Department of Class Solidarity (DOCS), "a permanent national war room tracking nearly 1,000 US billionaires, their wealth, corporate holdings, and political contributions."
"This Labor Day weekend, we are not resting," DOCS said on social media. "The oligarchs are snatching away our healthcare, our livelihoods, and our rights. Now is the time to act."
DOCS and allied groups rallied for a "Hamptons Billionaire Shutdown" on Long Island.
🔥 March on Billionaires Lane in the Hamptons — one of the densest concentrations of billionaires in the world.Oligarchs are hiding in their mansions as they bankroll attacks on us with fortunes they plundered from us.The working class is rising. ✊ #PeopleOverBillionaires #FightOligarchy
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— Our Revolution (@our-revolution.bsky.social) September 1, 2025 at 1:33 PM
"The Hamptons is where right-wing billionaires like Bill Ackman and Dan Loeb plot and plan in their hundred-million-dollar mansions, ensconced from the workers they exploit," DOCS said. "Time to give them a taste of their own medicine."
Under the proposal, the US would take control after "voluntary" relocation of Palestinians from the strip, where proposed projects include an Elon Musk Smart Manufacturing Zone and Gaza Trump Riviera & Islands.
The White House is "circulating" a plan to transform a substantially depopulated Gaza into US President Donald Trump's vision of a high-tech "Riviera of the Middle East" brimming with private investment and replete with artificial intelligence-powered "smart cities."
That's according a 38-page prospectus for a proposed Gaza Reconstitution, Economic Acceleration, and Transformation (GREAT) Trust obtained by The Washington Post and published in a report on Sunday. Parts of the proposal were previously reported by the Financial Times.
"Gaza can transform into a Mediterranean hub for manufacturing, trade, data, and tourism, benefiting from its strategic location, access to markets... resources, and a young workforce all supported by Israeli tech and [Gulf Cooperation Council] investments," the prospectus states.
However, to journalist Hala Jaber, the plan amounts to "genocide packaged as real estate."
Here comes the Gaza Network State.A plan to turn Gaza into a privately-developed “gleaming tourism resort and high-tech manufacturing and technology hub” with “AI-powered smart cities” and “Trump Riviera” resortgift link:wapo.st/4g2eATo
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— Gil Durán (@gilduran.com) August 31, 2025 at 10:18 AM
The GREAT Trust was drafted by some of the same Israelis behind the controversial Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), whose aid distribution points in Gaza have been the sites of deliberate massacres and other incidents in which thousands of aid-seeking Palestinians have been killed or wounded.
According to the Post, financial modeling for the GREAT Trust proposal "was done by a team working at the time for the Boston Consulting Group"—which played a key role in creating GHF. BCG told the Post that the firm did not approve work on the trust plan, and that two senior partners who led the financial modeling were subsequently terminated.
The GREAT Trust envisions "a US-led multirlateral custodianship" lasting a decade or longer and leading to "a reformed Palestinian self-governance after Gaza is "demilitarized and de-radicalized."
Josh Paul—a former US State Department official who resigned in October 2023 over the Biden administration's decision to sell more arms to Israel as it waged a war on Gaza increasingly viewed by experts as genocidal—told Democracy Now! last week that Trump's plan for Gaza is "essentially a new form of colonialism, a transition from Israeli colonialism to corporate" colonialism.
The GREAT Trust contains two proposals for Gaza's more than 2 million Palestinians. Under one plan, approximately 75% of Gaza's population would remain in the strip during its transformation. The second proposal involves up to 500,000 Gazans relocating to third countries, 75% of them permanently.
The prospectus does not say how many Palestinians would leave Gaza under the relocation option. Those who choose to permanently relocate to other unspecified countries would each receive $5,000 plus four years of subsidized rent and subsidized food for a year.
The GREAT Trust allocates $6 billion for temporary housing for Palestinians who remain in Gaza and $5 billion for those who relocate.
The proposal projects huge profits for investors—nearly four times the return on investment and annual revenue of $4.5 billion within a decade. The project would be a boon for companies ranging from builders including Saudi bin Laden Group, infrastructure specialists like IKEA, the mercenary firm Academi (formerly Blackwater), US military contractor CACI—which last year was found liable for torturing Iraqis at the notorious Abu Ghraib prison—electric vehicle manufacturer Tesla, tech firms such as Amazon, and hoteliers Mandarin Oriental and IHG Hotels and Resorts.
Central to the plan are 10 "megaprojects," including half a dozen "smart cities," a regional logistics hub to be build over the ruins of the southern city of Rafah, a central highway named after Saudi Crown Prime Mohammed bin Salman—Saudi Arabia and other wealthy Gulf states feature prominently in the proposal as investors—large-scale solar and desalinization plants, a US data safe haven, an "Elon Musk Smart Manufacturing Zone," and "Gaza Trump Riviera & Islands" similar to the Palm Islands in Dubai.
In addition to "massive" financial gains for private US investors, the GREAT Trust lists strategic benefits for the United States that would enable it to "strengthen" its "hold in the east Mediterranean and secure US industry access to $1.3 trillion of rare-earth minerals from the Gulf."
Earlier this year, Trump said the US would "take over" Gaza, American real estate developers would "level it out" and build the "Riviera of the Middle East" atop its ruins after Palestinians—"all of them"—leave Palestine's coastal exclave. The president called for the "voluntary" transfer of Gazans to Egypt and Jordan, both of whose leaders vehemently rejected the plan.
"Voluntary emigration" is widely considered a euphemism for ethnic cleansing, given Palestinians' general unwillingness to leave their homeland.
According to a May survey by the Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research, nearly half of Gazans expressed a willingness to apply for Israeli assistance to relocate to other countries. However, many Gazans say they would never leave the strip, where most inhabitants are descendants of survivors of the Nakba, the ethnic cleansing of more than 750,000 Palestinians during the creation of Israel in 1948. Some are actual Nakba survivors.
"I'm staying in a partially destroyed house in Khan Younis now," one Gazan man told the Post. "But we could renovate. I refuse to be made to go to another country, Muslim or not. This is my homeland."
The Post report follows a meeting last Wednesday at the White House, where Trump, senior administration officials, and invited guests including former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair, investor and real estate developer Jared Kushner—who is also the president's son-in-law—and Israeli Minister of Strategic Affairs Ron Dermer discussed Gaza's future.
While Dermer reportedly claimed that Israel does not seek to permanently occupy Gaza, Israeli leaders including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu—who is wanted by the International Criminal Court for alleged crimes against humanity and war crimes including murder and forced starvation in Gaza—have said they will conquer the entire strip and keep at least large parts of it.
"We conquer, cleanse, and stay until Hamas is destroyed," Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich recently said. "On the way, we annihilate everything that still remains."
The Israel Knesset also recently hosted a conference called "The Gaza Riviera–from vision to reality" where participants openly discussed the occupation and ethnic cleansing of the strip.
The publication of the GREAT Trust comes as Israeli forces push deeper into Gaza City amid a growing engineered famine that has killed at least hundreds of Palestinians and is starving hundreds of thousands of more. Israel's 696-day assault and siege on Gaza has left at least 233,200 Palestinians dead, wounded, or missing, according to the Gaza Health Ministry—whose casualty figures are seen as a likely undercount by experts.