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Israel's Netanyahu plans to name new settlement in Golan after Trump

Tuesday, 23 April 2019 5:58 PM [ Last Update: Tuesday, 23 April 2019 6:29 PM ]

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (C) holds a proclamation signed by US President Donald Trump recognizing Israel's "sovereignty" over the occupied Golan Heights, during a weekly cabinet meeting in Jerusalem al-Quds, April 14, 2019. (Photo by AFP)

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says he plans to name a new settlement in the occupied Golan Heights after President Donald Trump of the United States in gratitude for his recognition of Israel's claim of "sovereignty" over the strategic plateau.

Emboldened Netanyahu, who has been on a trip to the occupied region along with his family for the Jewish week-long Passover holiday, said in a video message on Tuesday that he would submit a resolution calling for "a new community on the Golan Heights" to be named after "President Donald J. Trump."

"All Israelis were deeply moved when President Trump made his historic decision to recognize Israel's sovereignty over the Golan Heights," he said.

In a highly provocative move on March 25, the US president signed a proclamation recognizing Israel's "sovereignty" over the Syrian territory on the direction of a number of his advisers, most notably his son-in-law Jared Kushner.

Damascus strongly condemned the move and called it a "blatant attack on the sovereignty and territorial integrity" of Syria.

The Arab League also denounced the decision, saying, "Trump's recognition does not change the area's status."

PressTV-Trump recognizes Israel’s sovereignty over Golan

US President Donald Trump has formally recognized Israeli sovereignty over the occupied Golan Heights, a border area the Tel Aviv regime seized from Syria in 1967.

Many countries, including Iran, Russia and Turkey, along with the United Nations Security Council have also lambasted Trump's provocative move.

In 1967, Israel waged a full-scale war on Arab territories, during which it occupied a large swathe of Golan and annexed it in 1981, a move never recognized by the international community. Syria has repeatedly reaffirmed its sovereignty over the Heights, saying the territory must be completely restored to its control.

Israel has also said separately that, in appreciation of Trump, it plans to name a proposed train station near the Western Wall of Jerusalem al-Quds after him.

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