Netanyahu intends to name Golan Heights settlement after Trump

Israeli leader wishes to ‘express appreciation’ for recognising sovereignty over region

US president Donald Trump shakes hands with Israel’s prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu in Washington. File photograph: Leah Millis/Reuters
US president Donald Trump shakes hands with Israel’s prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu in Washington. File photograph: Leah Millis/Reuters

Israel's prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu wants to name a new settlement in the Golan Heights after president Donald Trump out of gratitude for the White House's recognition of Israeli sovereignty over the territory.

Mr Netanyahu was touring the Golan Heights on Tuesday and said there was a “need to express our appreciation” to the president.

He said he would advance “a resolution calling for a new community on the Golan Heights named after president Donald J Trump”.

Last month, Mr Trump officially recognised Israeli sovereignty over the territory it captured from Syria in the 1967 Mideast War.

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Israel annexed the mountain plateau in 1981, a move unrecognised by most of the international community.

An estimated 20,000 Israelis live in Golan Heights settlements, which most of the international community considers illegal. – AP