Billionaire tech mogul Elon Musk feasting on local cuisine, U.S. President Donald Trump caressing the arm of a belly dancer in a nightclub, and the Israeli prime minister lounging by a pool are all part of the computer-generated vision Trump shared on his social media platform Tuesday evening for the future of Gaza following Israel's destruction of the enclave.
Accompanied by an upbeat song heralding "Trump Gaza, shining bright, golden future, a brand new life," the "sinister" artificial intelligence-made video "must be seen to be believed," said British trade unionist Howard Beckett.
"Monsters rejoicing in their genocide and ethnic cleansing," he said, summarizing the 34-second video. "It is truly racist fascism."
The video was posted amid the fragile cease-fire that's been in place since mid-January in Gaza, where Israel has killed more than 48,000 Palestinians since it began bombarding the enclave in October 2023 in retaliation for a Hamas-led attack.
As negotiators have worked toward a permanent cease-fire in recent weeks, Trump has floated a proposal to turn Gaza—home to 2 million people—into a playground for the rich called the "Riviera of the Middle East."
Advocates and experts warned earlier this month that Trump's proposal to "clean out" Palestinians as part of his latest real estate venture was an explicit call for ethnic cleansing—one that, according to the video Trump posted on Truth Social, includes the construction of a property called "Trump Gaza" and an immense statue depicting the president.
Toward the end of the video Musk, who poured $277 million into Trump's presidential campaign and has grown richer since Trump took office, is shown again walking through a crowd as money rains down around him.
Palestinian American historian Ussama Makdisicalled the video depicting the U.S. colonization of Gaza "sick," but suggested it showed an extreme outcome of the American political establishment's view and treatment of Palestinian rights for decades, including its support for Israel's assault on the enclave.
"What else should we expect from the culmination of a bipartisan U.S. consensus that for a century has waged war on the idea that Palestinians deserve equality and freedom?" said Makdisi.
Ben Goggin, deputy technology editor for NBC News, noted that "nearly all" of the comments posted in response to the video on Trump's own platform were negative, with self-identified supporters calling it "just plain horrible" and "filth."
The origin of the video was not clear on Wednesday; Trump shared it without commenting on who made it.
International human rights experts and a United Nations committee have said there is evidence that Israel has committed genocide in Gaza, and this week Democracy for the Arab World Now called on the International Criminal Court (ICC) to investigate former U.S. President Joe Biden and his administration for "aiding and abetting" alleged crimes against humanity and war crimes.
The ICC has also issued an arrest warrant for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as well as Hamas military leader Mohammed Deif for alleged war crimes. Deif was killed in an Israeli airstrike last year.
Trump's video, said British-Nigerian activist and author Shola Mos-Shogbamimu, envisions "ethnic cleansing rebranded as a real estate deal."
"Colonialist white supremacist zionism," she said, describing the video. "Pure evil."
