A Palestinian-American billionaire building a $ 1.4 billion city in the desert desert says it's a 'golden opportunity' to build a 'model state' for the Middle East

• Rawabi is the first planned city in the West Bank built by and for Palestinians. The $ US1.4 billion project is the brainchild of Bashar al-Masri, a Palestinian-American billionaire.

• Masri believes that the Palestinian territories are a "golden opportunity" for Palestinians and the international community to build a model, economically equal democracy in the Middle East.

• Masri is hoping that Rawabi can be the first step. He is trying to create 3,000-5,000 permanent high-paying jobs in the city and is becoming a vibrant and culturally vibrant city in the West Bank.

---

Palestinian-American billionaire developer Bashar al-Masri is the brains behind Rawabi, a $ US1.4 billion planned city of 40,000 in the West Bank, the million home territory to 2.6 million Palestinians.

Rawabi is the first planned city in the West Bank built by and for Palestinians. With a price tag of $ US1.4 billion, it is the largest private sector project in Palestinian history. Around 4,000 of a planned 40,000 people currently live in the shiny new city.

When most outsiders look at Palestinian territories in West Bank and Gaza, they see only poverty. Masri told Business Insider that he sees "a golden opportunity to build an oasis."

"Not every year, not every hundred years is new," Masri said. "The whole international community has an opportunity to build a model state if they want. We have no choice. We must build the model state. "

Masri plans for Rawabi to create an 'economic backbone' for Palestine

While a true, independent Palestinian state does not yet exist, Masri believes that the other countries can provide the economic backbone for the state, providing high-quality jobs, and possible.

"That's what I'm motivated by: improving the economy, upgrading the standards of living, preventing the brain drain, and keeping these hopeful," Masri said.

"One of the biggest problems before you can have a free nation. To be sure, we need the bulk of our people, "he added.

Currently, the West Bank has an 18% unemployment rate and a moribund economy. In Gaza, the unemployment rate is as high as 54%.

Because Palestine lacks natural resources and is more important, it is more important than any other country in the world.

Since construction began, Rawabi has created about 10,000 related jobs per year. Goal Masri's goal is to draw major tech corporations to create 3,000-5,000 high-paying, permanent jobs. That goal is still a long way off.

Rawabi has only just begun

Today, most of the businesses operating in Rawabi are owned or managed by Masri. The main company is Asal Technologies, a software development company that outsources developers. It includes Microsoft, Intel, and Israeli tech giant Mellanox among its customers and has hired a couple hundred developers in Rawabi.

There are other aspects of Rawabi that point to Masri's goal of a model. Rawi has set up homeowners' badociations for each neighborhood – the first of their kind in the West Bank – with the goal of getting residents to be politically engaged. A city council, which included members of the homeowners badociations, was elected several months ago. Elections for a mayor and other positions are due to follow.

While most states in the Middle East are monarchies, they can be a truly unique, an economically equal Arab democracy.

"Palestinian Authority," Jack Nbadar, spokesperson for Rawabi, told Business Insider. "We are not resisting the Israeli occupation to end up under another dictatorship or another religious state. We want Palestine to be modern, democratic and secular. "

NOW WATCH: Briefing videos

Follow Business Insider Australia on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Instagram.