Extracts: George Washington University GWU economics professor Joseph Pelzman authored the "out-of-the-box" Economic Plan for Rebuilding Gaza and submitted it, to Trump’s team as early as July 2024
What did UNRWA do with their billions of funding for 70 odd years
It presents a viewpoint whereby Gaza’s economy has reached absolute rock bottom
Pelzman cites World Bank data, which states that between 2007 and 2022 Gaza’s annual GDP growth averaged 0.4% while per capita GDP declined by 2.5% per year due to high population growth
Moreover because of the war that erupted following Hamas’s attack on Israel on October 7, 2023 the destruction in Gaza has become so extensive that it is beyond repair or reconstruction, according to the professor
In fact, according to Pelzman, no private or international investment entity would enter Gaza as things stand
Pelzman told Dr. Kobby Barda, an Israeli historian specializing in American politics and geo-strategy,
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“You have to restart from scratch”
Pelzman presented additional data, already known to the public:
As of 2022 Gaza’s unemployment rate stood at 45% and 53% of the population lived below the poverty line, compared to about 13% of the Palestinians living in the West Bank
According to World Bank estimates from March 2024 cited by Pelzman, approximately 1.2 million people in Gaza were homeless and destitute “due to Hamas actions”
