Hamas blocked Gazan contractors last week from reaching an area in Rafah designated for a new Palestinian city under the Trump administration’s peace plan, Hebrew media reported on Tuesday.
The contractors told Kan News that armed Hamas members prevented them from reaching the area. The contractors, who had come from across the Gaza Strip, were forced to turn back even though they had been sent there in coordination with the Israel Defense Forces and the Civil Military Coordination Center (CMCC), the headquarters set up in the Israeli city of Kiryat Gat to manage stabilization efforts in Gaza, according to the report.
The workers were starting construction on “New Rafah,” a plan for 100,000-plus housing units which was unveiled by Jared Kushner, U.S. President Donald Trump’s son-in-law and special advisor, at the World Economic Forum in Davos in January.
The new city is part of a larger “New Gaza” plan presented by Kushner, who sits on the executive board of the Board of Peace. The United Arab Emirates is underwriting the project with a reported $1.2 billion contribution.
The incident marks the first time Hamas has actively interfered in an activity coordinated by the CMCC and the Board of Peace, the body set up by the Trump administration to oversee the Gaza peace plan, according to the report.
Israeli security officials have signaled to the U.S. and the Board of Peace that the time is approaching for the resumption of fighting in Gaza, it added.
