In the current situation in the Middle East, it is unclear how quickly, if at all, the Gaza Strip reconstruction project will get underway, as the Palestinians expect after the ceasefire was announced. Currently, there are three arenas in the Middle East – Gaza, Lebanon and Syria – that are desperate for reconstruction with investment requirements worth hundreds of billions of dollars in the coming years. It is unclear where this money will come from.
The potential investors – the wealthy Gulf states (mainly Saudi Arabia, the Emirates and Qatar) – will not be able to finance the required reconstruction themselves, since they also have internal needs and much more attractive investment destinations around the world.
These countries seek various types of benefits through their investments abroad – economic benefits (i.e., a return on investment to diversify their economies), creating influence in the markets in which they invest, political benefits (relations with the West), and strengthening stability in the region, which is a clear national security interest for them.
In this regard, it is unclear what the motivation of the Gulf states will be to pour a sea of money into the Gaza Strip and not into Lebanon or Syria. First, past experience proves that investing in the Gaza Strip is not a safe investment due to the rounds of fighting every few years.