Abstract
This study examines the trajectory of reconstruction in Gaza as a process unfolding within a structure of de-development, understood here as a form of settler-colonial governance aimed at erasing the foundations of development, destroying the economy, and, more broadly, eliminating the indigenous population. It argues that employing past approaches in the current reconstruction risks turning reconstruction into a mechanism for the continuation of the genocide. The study further demonstrates that any future reconstruction process will confront major structural challenges, including the severe humanitarian crisis produced by genocide, the continuation of the blockade, Palestinian political division, chronic funding shortages, and the volatility of international aid. It concludes that sustainable reconstruction will remain unattainable unless it is accompanied by an end to the siege, the dismantling of the structures of de-development, and its integration into a broader trajectory toward self-determination and emancipation within a unified Palestinian national project.
