Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu says he has a new idea about how to thank President Trump for supporting Israel — he wants to name a town after him.
To be exact, Netanyahu wants to name a community in the Golan Heights, the contested territory which Israel and Syria both claim, after the US president. The Israeli prime minister made the announcement on Twitter and on YouTube on Tuesday, April 23. You can watch him make the announcement above, or here.
The prime minister also released a video announcement in Hebrew;
“I’m here in the beautiful Golan Heights,” Netanyahu says, in the English language version. “All Israelis were deeply moved when President Trump made his historic decision to recognize Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights. Therefore after the Passover holiday I intend to bring to the government a resolution calling for a new community on the Golan Heights named after President Donald J. Trump.”
Netanyahu Said He Wanted to Thank the Trump Administration for Agreeing that the Golan Heights Belong to Israel
Donald Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu shake hands during a joint news conference at the East Room of the White House February 15, 2017 in Washington, DC. (Getty)
In his video announcement, the Israeli prime minister said he wanted to name part of the Golan Heights after the US president as a way of thanking him. That’s because back in March, the Trump administration formally recognized the Golan Heights as belonging to Israel. Most of the international community considers that Israel is illegally occupying the Golan Heights, and the decision to recognize Israeli sovereignty put the Trump administration at odds with some of its allies. You can read the president’s proclamation on recognizing the Golan Heights as part of Israel here.
Israel originally seized the Golan Heights from Syria in 1967, at the close of the Six Day War. Syria later tried to reconquer the area, in 1973, but failed. In 1974, Syria and Israel signed an armistice and agreed to set up a UN peacekeeping force in the Golan Heights. In 1981, Israel annexed the area and declared that it was part of Israel. Most of the international community does not recognize Israel’s sovereignty over the Golan Heights. But in March 2019, the Trump administration officially declared the Golan Heights to be part of Israel.