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Netanyahu to name Golan Heights community after Trump

By Darryl Coote

April 23 (UPI) -- Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Tuesday he intends to name a community in the Golan Heights after President Donald Trump for his recognition of Israeli sovereignty over the disputed area.

Netanyahu made the proclamation while touring the area with his wife and sons in a video published on his YouTube page.

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"All Israelis were deeply moved when President Trump made his historic decision to recognize Israel's sovereignty over the Golan Heights," the prime minister said in English with the Golan Heights in the background. "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."

Late last month, Trump overturned decades of American policy by signing a proclamation recognizing Israel's sovereignty over the disputed area.

"This was a long time in the making," Trump said during the signing ceremony. "Should have taken place decades ago."

The declaration was met with swift condemnation from the international community with both the European Union and the United Nations reasserting their stance of not recognizing Israeli rule of the Golan Heights.

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The stretch of land is located between Syria and Israel and was seized by Israel during the Six-Day War of 1967. In 1981, Israel passed the Golan Heights Law, which extended its sovereignty over the area, a move condemned by the U.N. Security Council who requested that Israel retract its decision.

Recognizing Golan Heights as Israeli land was the second controversial move Trump made concerning the Middle Eastern country.

Earlier, Tump relocated the U.S. embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem while recognizing Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.

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