Israeli reporters have been circulating an image of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu holding up a map of Israel. Netanyahu — or “Bibi,” as many know him — looks seriously at the map, a present from President Trump.
Trump signed the map along the side and added, in large print, the word “Nice,” with an arrow pointing to the Golan Heights. The Golan Heights is a contested region claimed both by Israel and Syria. The United States recently became one of the few countries in the world to recognize the area as belonging to Israel.
The Jerusalem Post reports that Jared Kushner brought the map to Prime Minister Netanyahu as a present from President Trump. Netanyahu announced the present during a televised speech to the nation.
Netanyahu Has Said He Wants to Name Part of the Golan Heights After Trump
Last month, prime minister Netanyahu announced that he had a new idea about how to thank President Trump for supporting Israel — he wanted to name a town after him.
To be exact, Netanyahu said he wants to name a community in the Golan Heights 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; you can see that here.
“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
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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.