Israel locates site on Golan to be named after President Trump

Israel has selected a location for a community to be named after President Trump on the Golan. 

By David Isaac, World Israel News 

Israel has already identified a location on the Golan Heights to build the new town that will be named after President Donald Trump. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu made the announcement at the start the government’s weekly Sunday Cabinet meeting.

On April 23, Mr. Netanyahu revealed his plan to name a new community after the U.S. president while touring the Golan Heights with his family. The gesture is meant to be in gratitude for President Trump’s official recognition of Israeli control over the area captured in the 1967 Six Day War.

Mr. Netanyahu said in a video post during his visit that there’s “a need to express our appreciation by calling a community or neighborhood on the Golan Heights after Donald Trump. I will bring that to the government [for approval] soon.”

The exact name of the community has not yet been revealed but the prime minister said it would be soon.

The future town is not the only place that will bear President Trump’s name. The mayor of Petah Tikvah recently announced he would name a town square after Mr. Trump. More such names are likely to follow.

On March 25, President Trump signed a proclamation recognizing Israel’s sovereignty over the Golan Heights.

With Prime Minister Netanyahu present, the president said it was time for the U.S. to take the step after 52 years of Israeli control of the strategic highlands on the border with Syria.

“This should have been done numerous presidents ago,” President Trump said.

The international community has refused to recognize Israel’s sovereignty over the territory. During the war, Syria and three other Arab nations attacked the Jewish state.

President Trump’s move was met with condemnation by most of the international community, including in Europe and most Arab countries.

Envoys from Britain, France and Germany protested, saying it would legitimize Russia’s takeover of the Crimea.

U.S. diplomats reportedly responded: “In the case of the Golan Heights, Israel took over the area after a war that was forced on it. In the case of Crimea, the Russians weren’t attacked but rather invaded the area on their own initiative.”