'Trump Gaza': US president's AI video angers Gazans

Donald Trump has shared his AI-generated vision for Gaza as a rich man's skyscraper-studded playground.

The US President posted the video on his Truth Social platform, which reimagines the strip as a beachfront city named 'Trump Gaza' with Tesla-filled streets.

The scenes sparked condemnation in the Arab world, where his claims that the US could buy or seize Gaza for redevelopment - while resettling Palestinians abroad - have been met with dismay.

“The entire video is provocative, and the name he is choosing is not acceptable, what does he mean by Trump Gaza, why does he think it is for him,” Heba Wiliam, 36, who lives in Al Nuseirat camp in central Gaza, told The National. Her home has been partially destroyed, and she has been displaced many times with her three sons.

“He probably sees Gaza as a coastal city with an excellent location and climate, where he could develop tourist areas, build cities, and reconstruct it to rival modern European cities," she added "Gaza was already a beautiful city without his or anyone else's involvement"

His plan to redevelop Gaza and remove more than two million Palestinians, made at a White House meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, caused international outrage and angered the Arab world.

After his return from Washington and in an address to his cabinet, Mr Netanyahu praised the proposal, calling it “revolutionary”. But Gazans were defiant over any attempt to relocate them from the enclave, saying Mr Trump's plans to take control and redevelop the territory were “fantasies” bound to fail.

"It's completely unacceptable, and the video is extremely provocative. There's a clear violation of our privacy, our country, and our very existence, Gaza is for Gazans only," Ibtisam Abu Saif, 50, who lives in her family's home after her house was completely destroyed told The National.

“There’s no way we can accept Trump’s interference in this way—in controlling Gaza and shaping it according to his own preferences and whims, the video is absolutely rejected and deeply offensive to our feelings.”

The footage shows an AI-generated Elon Musk throwing cash in the air and golden statues of Trump.

A music track with the video says: “No more tunnels, no more fear, Trump Gaza is finally here. Trump Gaza shining bright, golden future, a brand new light. Feast and dance, the deal is done, Trump Gaza number one.”

Gaudy vision

The footage depicts a coastal city with promenades, high-rises and shimmering beaches - similar to Tel Aviv.

Stranger details include bearded belly dancers, a child holding a gold balloon in the shape of Mr Trump’s face and a huge golden statue of the US President himself. Mr Musk throws cash in the air for the poor to apparently scoop up.

At the end, Mr Trump himself is seen sipping a drink on a lounger beside Mr Netanyahu, at the “Trump Gaza" resort.

"Trump sees the issue as an investment project and doesn't see anything else. On the other hand, the Palestinians view it as an existential struggle that is non-negotiable and nearly impossible,” Ahmad Hassouna, 38, who lives in Gaza told The National.

“Trump does not understand the concept of belief and attachment to the original homeland, to the motherland... Palestinians consider themselves as belonging to this land since the dawn of history, It has a religious meaning for them that cannot be compromised,” he added.

Gaza reconstruction

On Monday, the EU's foreign affairs chief, Kaja Kallas, told Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar that the bloc rejects plans to forcibly displace Gazans, as concern mounts over a ceasefire in the war-torn and violence escalates in the Israeli-occupied West Bank.

Meanwhile, Egypt is actively working with discreet diplomacy to persuade as many Arab heads of state as possible to participate in an emergency summit scheduled for next week, exerting its regional weight to persuade the Arab League's 22 members to take a meaningful stand against Mr Trump's Gaza plans.

While travelling on Air Force One to the Super Bowl in New Orleans, Mr Trump told reporters earlier this month he wants to make sure that Hamas “doesn't move back” to control the enclave.

Israel has made the removal of Hamas from power one of its primary objectives in the war, which has killed more than 48,000 Palestinians in Gaza since it began on October 7, 2023. The war erupted after Palestinian militant factions led by Hamas launched a deadly attack on southern Israeli communities, killing approximately 1,200 people and taking hundreds of hostages.

The future governance of Gaza is also tied to its post-war reconstruction, which is expected to cost billions of dollars. Many international donors, particularly western governments, have signalled that they will not fund Gaza’s rebuilding efforts unless Hamas relinquishes control of the territory.

However, disarming Hamas is “beyond impossible” and not up for negotiation, a member of the group’s political leadership told The National on Tuesday, days after the militant faction welcomed a unified Palestinian “supervision” of Gaza.