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Over 2,000 Israelis are making a beeline to move into a burgeoning Golan Heights settlement named after US President-elect Donald Trump, which came in honour of the 78-year-old leader's decision to recognise Golan as Israel's territory during his first term.
Currently, around 50 to 100 residents live in Trump Heights and another 2,000 are lining up to live in the enclave that was once a former Syrian territory. Deputy head of the regional council, Yaakov Selavan, told The New York Post, "Trump Heights is one of the biggest tourist sites in the region."
In 2019, Trump announced that the US recognised Golan Heights as Israel's territory, making him the first world leader to do so. The move drew widespread condemnation from the international community, which considers Golan to be part of Syria and Israel's settlements illegal. Since then, the US remains the only country to recognise Golan as part of Israel.
During the 1967 Arab-Israeli war, Israel conquered most of Golan from Syria and then annexed two-thirds of the territory in 1981.
Trump Heights's de facto mayor, Yarden Friman, praised Trump for his move to recognise Israeli sovereignty over Golan Heights.
"Trump's recognition of Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights is something very dear to me and to all of us. I am optimistic about the future. We haven't had a single (air raid) alarm since the ceasefire with Hezbollah," Friman said.
Ori Kallner, head of the Golan's regional council, expressed hope that Trump would persuade European countries to recognise Israeli sovereignty.
The ceasefire, which came into force in November, stipulates that Hezbollah will withdraw from areas south of the Litani river, which runs some 30 km north of the border with Israel, and that the Lebanese army will deploy troops there as Israeli ground troops withdraw. The truce came after more than a year of hostilities between Hezbollah and Israel that decimated swathes of Lebanon and killed 4,000 people.
Last week, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced a goal to double the population in Golan, saying Israel "will continue to hold" the strategic region, The New York Post reported.
"Strengthening the Golan Heights is strengthening the State of Israel, and it is especially important at this time. We will continue to hold on to it, make it flourish and settle it," he said.
Recently, the Israeli cabinet gave its nod to a plan to contribute USD 11 million to Golan communities such as Trump Heights to support renewable energy, education and bringing in new residents in the region.
Currently, job opportunities are limited in Golan settlements and development has not flourished as much due to the region's remote location and the year-long Israel-Hezbollah conflict.
According to Israeli figures, Golan houses about 50,000 people, of which half of them are Jewish Israelis and the other half are Arab Druze, many of whom still consider themselves Syrians.
(with inputs from agencies)
Published By:
Prateek Chakraborty
Published On:
Dec 25, 2024
