A square near the new American embassy in Jerusalem's Arnona neighborhood is to be named in honor of President Donald Trump, a Hebrew-language Facebook post by the city's mayor, Nir Barkat, announced on Tuesday.

Under the title "Jerusalem returns the love to Trump," Barkat announced: "We have decided that the square adjacent to the embassy in the capital will be called "United States Square – in honor of President Donald Trump."

The official transfer of the American embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem and the dedication of the embassy, which had up to now served as an American consular office, will occur on May 14.

>> One week to opening of U.S. embassy in Jerusalem: Everything you need to know <<

Trump announced the controversial plan to transfer the embassy in December, saying: "It is time to officially recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel," and calling it "nothing more or less than a recognition of reality. It is also the right thing to do. It's something that has to be done." Trump added at the time: "We are not taking a position of any final status issues, including the specific boundaries of the Israeli sovereignty in Jerusalem or the resolution of contested borders."

The Palestinians are seeking to establish the capital of an independent Palestinian state in the eastern part of the city.

>> Jerusalem for dummies part 1: Why the world doesn't recognize it as Israel's capital ■ Jerusalem for dummies, part 2: What the Palestinians want </s> The mayor of Jerusalem announced on Tuesday that his city will be honoring President Donald Trump with the naming of a square near the new United States’ Israeli embassy.

Mayor Nir Barkat said the location’s name will be “United States Square in honor of President Donald Trump.”

“This is the way in which Jerusalem returns love to the president and residents of the United States who stand by the state of Israel,” the mayor said in a news release, The Jerusalem Post reported.

“President Trump decided to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of the Jewish people, stand on the side of historical truth and do the right thing,” Barkat added.

The mayor tweeted a picture of the square, which he wrote is next to the embassy.

Trump announced his intention to move the United States’ embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem in December.

“That city is Israel’s capital,” Trump said at the time, according to CNBC. “It is time to officially recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.”

The president added moving the embassy “is nothing less than a recognition of reality.”

Israel’s center of government is in Jerusalem, including its legislature, the Knesset, and the official residence of the prime minister.

Trump noted in December that “while previous presidents have made this a major campaign promise, they failed to deliver. Today, I am delivering.”

The United States plans to open its new embassy — which will be located where the U.S. consulate currently exists — on Monday, May 14. The date coincides with the 70th anniversary of the founding of the modern state of Israel.

The United States, under the leadership of then-President Harry Truman, was the first nation to officially recognize the independence of Israel in 1948.

The U.S. was also the first nation to officially recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel by moving its embassy there. Guatemala announced in March it plans to do the same. All other nations’ embassies in Israel are located in Tel Aviv, Newsweek reported.

Barkat proudly posted photos of a new road sign he hung this week showing the way to the American embassy.

“Jerusalem is the eternal capital of the Jewish people — and the world is beginning to recognize this face!” Barkat wrote.

According to the biblical account, Jerusalem first became the capital of the Jewish people around 1,000 B.C. under the leadership of King David.

Pastor John Hagee, the founder of Christians United for Israel, told Fox News, “(President Trump) will be remembered for thousands of years for his act of courage to treat Israel like we already treat other nations.”

What do you think? Scroll down to comment below. </s> JERUSALEM (AP) — The leaders of Romania and Honduras on Sunday announced that they will recognize Jerusalem as Israel's capital, following the lead of President Donald Trump.

Romanian Prime Minister Viorica Dancila and Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernandez delivered their announcements at the American Israel Public Affairs Committee's annual conference in Washington. The announcements were welcomed by Israeli politicians.

However, Romanian President Klaus Iohannis, a government rival who's in charge of the East European nation's foreign policy, said the prime minister hadn't consulted with him over the decision. He accused her of "total ignorance" of foreign policy.

The move is considered controversial as it goes against the rest of the European Union. Romania currently holds the bloc's rotating presidency.

Trump recognized Jerusalem as Israel's capital and moved the U.S. Embassy to the city, a move that was applauded by Israel. Guatemala followed suit.

The move angered the Palestinians, who seek east Jerusalem as capital of a future state.

Most countries have embassies in Tel Aviv out of sensitivity over the contested city. The Palestinians, and most of the international community, say the city's final status should be resolved in negotiations. </s> JERUSALEM: The US today opened its embassy in Jerusalem under a controversial move by President Donald Trump, amid a bloodbath right on the border with Gaza where Israeli soldiers shot dead at least 52 Palestinians in clashes, in the deadliest escalation of violence since 2014.

Trump announced the decision to move the embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem in December, when he formally recognised the holy city as the capital of Israel, breaking away from decades of US neutrality on the sensitive issue.

"Today, we officially opened the United States embassy in Jerusalem. Congratulations. It's been a long time coming," President Trump said in a pre-recorded video at the US embassy opening here.

"Israel is a sovereign nation, with the right like any other sovereign nation, to designate its capital," he said.

The American leader said the US remains fully committed to facilitating a lasting peace agreement between Israel and Palestinians.

He said that his country supports status quo at the Temple Mount, a flashpoint of Israel-Palestinian conflict that houses the Western Wall (holiest site for the Jews) and the al-Aqsa mosque - known as Haram al-Sharif.

"This city and entire nation is a testament to the unbreakable spirit of the Jewish people," Trump emphasised.

Later, the US President tweeted, "Big day for Israel. Congratulations!"

The inauguration ceremony started with the singing of the American anthem and the presentation of colours by US Marines.

US Ambassador to Israel David Friedman noted that Washington, which became the first country to recognise the State of Israel, has now taken "a step awaited, voted upon, and litigated and prayed for for all these years".

"Again the United States leads the way," in relocating the embassy, he said.

The move is the result of the "vision, the courage, and the moral clarity" of President Trump, to whom we own an "enormous and eternal debt of gratitude," the US envoy stressed.

"We have shown the world once again that the US can be trusted," said Jared Kushner, senior adviser to the President and Trump's son-in-law.

He also hailed Trump's decision to withdraw the US from the Iran nuclear deal, saying the President announced his intention to exit the "dangerous, flawed and one-sided Iran deal."

Speaking at the opening ceremony, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu thanked President Trump for keeping his promise. "Thank you, President Trump, for having the courage to keep your promise," he said.

"Thank you, President Trump for making the alliance between Israel and the United States stronger than ever," he said.

"You can only build peace on truth. And the truth is that Jerusalem has been, and always will be, the capital of the Jewish people, the capital of the Jewish state," he asserted.

A high-level American delegation that includes Deputy Secretary of State John Sullivan, Secretary of Treasury Steven Mnuchin, Kushner, senior adviser and first daughter Ivanka Trump, and Special Representative for International Negotiations Jason Greenblatt attended the embassy opening ceremony.

Meanwhile, Palestinians, who protested massively along the Gaza border clashed with Israeli forces, leading to the death of at least 52 of them.

According to the Palestinian Ministry of Health, at least 52 people have been killed and more than 2,400 people suffered injuries.

Of the 52 killed today, at least six were below the age of 18, including one female. And, of more than 2,400 wounded, at least 200 were below the age of 18 and 11 were journalists.

The Palestinian protestors burned tyres and threw stones at the soldiers, trying to approach the fence.

The Palestinian Authority headed by President Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah party and headquartered in the West Bank town of Ramallah accused Israel of committing a "terrible massacre" as the death toll soared.

Seeking international intervention, Palestinian government spokesman Yusuf al-Mahmoud said that it was an urgent requirement given "the terrible massacre in Gaza committed by the forces of the Israeli occupation against our heroic people".

The death toll made it the deadliest day in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict since the 2014 Gaza war.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) released a statement accusing Hamas, which controls Gaza, of "leading a terrorist operation" and inciting protesters who had amassed by the border fence with Israel to conduct what Israel described as terror attacks.

The IDF estimated that around 35,000 people -- who it describes as "violent rioters" -- had assembled in 12 different locations along the border fence between Gaza and Israel and thousands more were gathered in a tent city about a kilometer from the border.

The military said the protesters threw Molotov cocktails, burned tyres, and stones at Israeli soldiers positioned along the fence.

The State Department noted that the opening of the new embassy will take place on the 70th anniversary of American recognition of the State of Israel, the day of its founding and a day that Palestinians refer to as "the Catastrophe," as hundreds of thousands fled their homes.

The Embassy move is contentious for Palestinians, who hope to claim part of the city as their future capital, and for many in the Arab world, as it is home to some of the holiest sites in Islam. The city is also home to deeply holy sites for Jews and Christians.

The issue has been so thorny that international negotiators had left the question of Jerusalem to the final stages of any peace deal. </s> JERUSALEM (Reuters) - U.S. Vice President Mike Pence’s planned trip to Israel on Sunday has been overshadowed by President Donald Trump’s announcement last month that the United States recognizes Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, and will start the process of moving its embassy there.

Pence, an evangelical Christian, plans to meet Israeli leaders and to visit the Western Wall, the Israeli parliament and a Holocaust remembrance centre in Jerusalem during the two-day visit, after stops in Egypt and Jordan.

Pence, however, is not scheduled to meet any Palestinian leaders, who declined to see him.

The trip was originally planned for December but was postponed after protests from Arab political and religious leaders - Muslim and Christian – about Trump’s Jerusalem decision, which broke with decades of U.S. policy and drew widespread criticism from America’s allies.

WHY DID TRUMP RECOGNIZE JERUSALEM AS ISRAEL‘S CAPITAL, AND ANNOUNCE THE EMBASSY WILL BE MOVED THERE?

There has long been pressure from pro-Israel politicians in Washington to move the U.S. embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, and Trump made it a promise of his 2016 election campaign.

Pence and David Friedman, the ambassador to Israel appointed by Trump, are thought to have pushed hard for both recognition and embassy relocation. It is a decision that was popular with many conservative and evangelical Christians who voted for Trump and Pence. Many of them support political recognition of Israel’s claim to the city.

WHY DOES JERUSALEM PLAY SUCH AN IMPORTANT ROLE IN THE MIDDLE EAST CONFLICT?

Jerusalem is a city that is sacred to Judaism, Christianity and Islam, and each religion has sites of great significance there. Jerusalem has been fought over for millennia by its inhabitants, and by regional powers and invaders including the Egyptians, Babylonians, Romans, early Muslim rulers, Crusaders, Ottomans, the British Empire, and by the modern states of Israel and its Arab neighbors.

Israel’s government regards Jerusalem as the eternal and indivisible capital of the country, although that is not recognized internationally. Palestinians feel equally strongly, saying that East Jerusalem must be the capital of a future Palestinian state. The city even has different names. Jews call it Jerusalem, or Yerushalayim, and Arabs call it Al-Quds, which means “The Holy”.

But the city’s significance goes further.

At the heart of Jerusalem’s Old City is the hill known to Jews across the world as Har ha-Bayit, or Temple Mount, and to Muslims internationally as al-Haram al-Sharif, or The Noble Sanctuary. It was home to the Jewish temples of antiquity but all that remains of them above ground is a restraining wall for the foundations built by Herod the Great. Known as the Western Wall, this is a sacred place of prayer for Jews.

Within yards of the wall, and overlooking it, are two Muslim holy places, the Dome of the Rock and the Al-Aqsa Mosque, which was built in the 8th century. Muslims regard the site as the third holiest in Islam, after Mecca and Medina. The city is also an important pilgrimage site for Christians, who revere it as the place where they believe that Jesus Christ preached, died and was resurrected.

WHAT IS THE CITY‘S MODERN HISTORY AND STATUS?

In 1947, the United Nations General Assembly decided that the then British-ruled Palestine should be partitioned into an Arab state and a Jewish state. But it recognized that Jerusalem had special status and proposed international rule for the city, along with nearby Bethlehem, as a ‘corpus separatum’ to be administered by the United Nations.

That never happened. When British rule ended in 1948, Jordanian forces occupied the Old City and Arab East Jerusalem. Israel captured East Jerusalem from Jordan in the 1967 Middle East war and annexed it in a move not recognized internationally.

In 1980 the Israeli parliament passed a law declaring the “complete and united” city of Jerusalem to be the capital of Israel. But the United Nations regards East Jerusalem as occupied, and the city’s status as disputed until resolved by negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians. The King of Jordan retains a role in ensuring the upkeep of the Muslim holy places.

DOES ANY OTHER COUNTRY HAVE AN EMBASSY IN JERUSALEM?

Other countries have had embassies in Jerusalem in the past, but moved them out of the city some years ago. In December Guatemala’s president, Jimmy Morales, said that his country will move its embassy from Tel Aviv. Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, said several countries were considering following the U.S. lead, but he declined to identify them.

Also in December, 128 countries voted in a non-binding U.N. General Assembly resolution calling on the U.S. to drop its recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital. Nine voted against, 35 abstained and 21 did not cast a vote.

WHAT IS LIKELY TO HAPPEN NEXT? HAS JERUSALEM BEEN A FLASHPOINT BEFORE?

The timeframe of the U.S. embassy move is unclear, with different predictions from Israeli and U.S. officials about how soon it could happen. Since the announcement there has been tension, with Palestinian protests in Jerusalem, Gaza and the West Bank. At least 18 Palestinians and one Israeli have been killed since Trump’s Dec. 6 announcement.

Although the clashes between Palestinian protesters and Israeli forces have not been on the scale of the first and second Palestinian intifadas in 1987-1993 and 2000-2005, violence has erupted before over matters of sovereignty and religion.

In 1969 an Australian Messianic Christian tried to burn down the Al-Aqsa Mosque. He failed, but caused damage. So charged was the Middle East’s political climate - just two years after the Six Day War - that there was fury across the Arab world.

In 2000, the Israeli politician Ariel Sharon, then opposition leader, led a group of Israeli lawmakers onto the Temple Mount/al-Haram al-Sharif complex. Palestinians protested, and there were violent clashes that quickly escalated into the second Palestinian uprising, also known as the Al-Aqsa Intifada.

Deadly confrontations also took place last July after Israel installed metal detectors at the entrance to the complex following the killing of two Israeli policemen there by Arab-Israeli gunmen.

Arab leaders across the Middle East have warned that a unilateral American move could lead to turmoil, and hamper U.S. efforts to restart long-stalled Israeli-Palestinian peace talks. </s> MIAMI (CBSMiami) – President Donald Trump defied much of the world in his decision to move the U.S. embassy to disputed territory in Jerusalem in a decades-long conflict. The move itself Monday was met with cheers and deadly chaos.

Israel’s consul general in Miami watched on television as the United States formally opened its embassy in Jerusalem, and saw that it was good.

“It’s a festive day. We were looking forward to the moving of the embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem for years, and we’re very happy that it’s happening today,” Consul General Lior Haiat told CBS4 News.

Palestinians were not happy. Thousands descended on the Israeli border and clashed with security forces. They want their capital in East Jerusalem, a territory disputed since the Israeli state was created 70 years ago. Scores were killed in the protests.

“Their way of expressing their disagreement is through violence and terrorism. It’s very unfortunate,” Haiat said.

Florida Governor Rick Scott attended the ceremony in Jerusalem. Earlier he visited the Western Wall, met with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and called it a “great day for Florida, Israel, and the United States.

“Countries like Guatemala and, most recently, Paraguay, announced their intention to move their embassies as well, and I hope more countries will choose to do the right thing and recognize Jerusalem,” Rubio said in a video statement.

But many nations have condemned the U.S. move to Jerusalem as provocative and destabilizing. The U.S. vetoed a United Nation’s Security Council resolution that said no members should recognize Jerusalem as the Israeli Capital. Britain and France opposed the U.S. on that vote. And amid the pomp and ceremony Monday, instability and provocation apparently carried the day, as protests and many deaths drew the world’s attention.

The United States, by law, has recognized Jerusalem as Israel’s rightful capital for nearly a quarter century, since a November, 1995 Congressional vote. It is a law that presidents – Democrats and Republicans – have chosen not to enforce until President Trump declared it time to follow the law. </s> Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu unveils the sign for the new settlement

Israel's prime minister has renamed a settlement after his favourite world leader: Donald Trump.

The 30-year-old settlement in the Israel-controlled Golan Heights is currently known as Beruchim and has a population of 10 people, mostly elderly immigrants from the former Soviet Union.

It is around 12 miles from the border with Syria and surrounded by land mines and high yellow grass.

Benjamin Netanyahu's cabinet has agreed in principle to rename the community Ramat Trump (Hebrew for Trump Heights), hoping this will encourage more Israelis to move there.

The move is also to thank the US president for his recognition of Israeli sovereignty over the territory in March.

In a ceremony on Sunday, Mr Netanyahu said Mr Trump was a "great friend" of Israel and that the Golan Heights is an "inseparable part of our country and homeland".

The ceremony was also attended by US Ambassador David Friedman, who said: "Few things are more important to the security of the state of Israel than permanent sovereignty over the Golan Heights.

"It is simply obvious, it is indisputable and beyond any reasonable debate."

Two days after Mr Trump's 73rd birthday, Mr Friedman said: "I can't think of a more appropriate and a more beautiful birthday present."

A huge sign was unveiled with the settlement's new name in gold, with US and Israeli flags.

Mr Trump tweeted afterwards that the renaming was a "great honour" and residents of the settlement were also pleased.

Vladimir Belotserkovsky, 75, said: "We certainly thank, and I personally, am satisfied by the fact that they're founding the new settlement named for Trump."

Rosa Zhernakov, a resident since 1991, said she hoped a bigger settlement would give "more security" from any possible return of the land to Syria.

Opposition politician Zvi Hauser described the ceremony as a cheap PR stunt, adding: "Whoever reads the small print on the 'historic' resolution understands that it is a dummy-resolution."

Israel captured the Golan Heights from Syria in 1967 and annexed it in 1981, a move most countries consider illegal.

Almost 50,000 people live in the Golan Heights, roughly half of them Jewish Israelis and half of them Arab Druze.

It is several hours from the economic centre of Tel Aviv and attracts little business besides some tourism and agriculture.

Syria wants the area back but, while it deals with conflict within its own borders, talks are unlikely. </s> To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video

There is no controversy like the controversy that surrounds the city of Jerusalem, the most divided city on the earth and the most coveted city on the earth.

The Bible predicted this more than 2,500 years ago, describing the day when Jerusalem would be a "a cup that brings dizziness to all the surrounding nations" (Zech. 12:2, NET), even declaring that one day, the whole would be in uproar over Jerusalem.

Stop and think about it for a moment.

Why does the whole world get so exercised over Jerusalem? Is there any other city on the planet that evokes such intense emotions and polar views?

And why does every nation put its embassies in the city that the host country identifies as its capital, except for the city of Jerusalem, identified as Israel's capital in 1950? Why do virtually all embassies remain in Tel Aviv?

There is something of spiritual significance to this ancient city that simply cannot be denied.

The Jerusalem Embassy Act of 1995, "passed by overwhelming bipartisan majority in both the House and Senate," states that "Jerusalem should be recognized as the capital of the State of Israel and the United States Embassy in Israel should be established in Jerusalem no later than May 31, 1999."

Then why didn't presidents Bush or Obama move the embassy? As explained by Rabbi Shraga Simmons, "since the congressional act allows the President to implement a waiver at six-month intervals, that's exactly what has happened every six months since 1995."

Now that Donald Trump has insisted that he will, in fact, relocate our embassy — in accordance with the 1995 act — the controversy is hitting the fan. In the words of Sheikh Ekrema Sabri, imam of the al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem, moving the embassy would be as good as a "declaration of war."

Consider the opposition to Trump's appointee for Ambassador to Israel, David Friedman, a strong supporter of Israel who speaks of our embassy's imminent relocation. As he said openly and proudly after his nomination, "I intend to work tirelessly to strengthen the unbreakable bond between our two countries and advance the cause of peace within the region, and look forward to doing this from the US embassy in Israel's eternal capital, Jerusalem."

According to a December 16 email from Rabbi Shmuley Boteach, known as "America's rabbi," Friedman is a "brilliant choice for Ambassador to Israel. One of America's most respected and accomplished attorneys, David is regarded in the highest esteem by the New York Jewish community as an exemplar of the American and Jewish virtues of education, erudition, philanthropy, and communal commitment."

He continued, "David has vast exposure to, and knowledge of, the Jewish State and its history and enjoys the confidence and respect of Israel's leaders. A man of humility and openness, he has a gift for listening, showing respect and deference to all whom he meets."

In sharp contrast, as noted on the Elder of Ziyon website, last Friday's New York Times "had four articles against Donald Trump's choice to be the US ambassador to Israel.

"Yes — four articles in one day. Two 'news' articles, one editorial, and one op-ed."

As Noah Pollack reported on The Washington Free Beacon, "The NYT Is Having a Meltdown Over Trump's Israel Nominee."

Pollack writes, "David Friedman is a prominent and successful attorney in New York who has spent 20 years representing Donald Trump, among other clients. He is also a proud Jew who holds unapologetic pro-Israel views that are heretical in Times-world, and he has also expressed acid disdain for the kind of Jewish anti-Israel activism regularly glorified in the pages of the Times.

"So he must be destroyed — and to destroy him he must be lied about. Which is what the Times did."

Pollack does not specifically mention Friedman's strong support for relocating our embassy, since there are other, controversial pro-Israel positions that Friedman supports, including the building of settlements in territories under Palestinian control and skepticism about a two-state solution. But you can be assured that a big part of the ruckus over Friedman's appointment is his affirmation that the American embassy will be moved.

That's why a headline on the Independent discussing Friedman's nomination focused on this issue alone, noting that, "Moving US embassy to Jerusalem would be 'declaration of war'."

And that's why New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman stated to Chris Cuomo on CNN that "moving the American embassy — and this is an evergreen, everyone running for President tosses this out, no one actually does it — moving the embassy to Jerusalem from Tel Aviv, in the absence of an agreed upon solution between Israelis and Palestinians, I would call that the 'Full Employment for Iran Act.'"

Yes, according to Friedman, it would also alienate the Sunni Arab regimes, meaning that this move would provoke the Shiite Muslims in Iran and the Sunni Muslims in countries like Egypt and Saudi Arabia.

Jerusalem, the city of controversy indeed!

Thomas Friedman then reiterated to Cuomo and co-host Alisyn Camerota: "This is such madness that it's — it's just — I can't believe we're talking about it."

Yet Kellyanne Conway, Trump's senior adviser, has reiterated that the incoming president really does plan to make this move, calling it a "big priority" for him. And how revealing that Thomas Friedman noted that "everyone running for President tosses this out" but "no one actually does it," whereas Trump is threatening actually to do it. This is the very reason many people voted for him: They expect him to be a doer, not just a talker.

Should President Trump succeed in relocating our embassy to Jerusalem, I predict three things: 1. all hell will break loose against him (expect it in the most shrill tones), with constant, worldwide controversy over the move), 2. God will bless our president for doing it; and 3) God will bless America for doing it.

There's just something about Jerusalem. Watch and see. (And to think that as recently as last month, an article in the Washingon Post claimed that, "Anti-Semitism is no longer an undertone of Trump's campaign. It's the melody." The irony is exquisite.) </s> AFP | Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the US Ambassador to Israel David Friedman inaugurate ‘Trump Heights’ in Golan, on June 16, 2019.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday officially renamed a settlement in the disputed Golan Heights after Israel’s “great friend” Donald Trump, in a show of gratitude for the US president for recognising Israel’s sovereignty of the territory.

In a ceremony attended by several cabinet ministers and accompanied by song and speeches, Netanyahu unveiled the “Trump Heights” sign, featuring the Israeli and American flags to mark the renaming of Israel’s Bruchim settlement, which was created 30 years ago.

"The Golan is Israeli and will remain so always," Netanyahu declared in his inauguration speech, praising Trump for his strong support for Israel by becoming the first foreign leader to recognise the Golan Heights as Israeli.

Trump is "a very great friend of Israel who has taken a decision that has never before been taken", he said.

Israel captured the Golan Heights from Syria in the 1967 Mideast war and annexed it in 1981. Most of the international community considers the move illegal under international law.

Some 23,000 Druze, an Arab Muslim minority also present in Syria and Lebanon, live in the occupied and annexed portion of the Golan, while 25,000 Israeli settlers have arrived there since 1967.

The US Ambassador to Israel, David Friedman, attended the ceremony and called the renaming of the site “absolutely beautiful”.

“We all checked the history book… it almost never happens anywhere in the world that an entire community is dedicated in the name of a sitting president,” he was quoted by the Times of Israel as saying. “President Trump will be honored to be in that small cadre of Israeli heroes,” he said.

“My only regrets is that neither the president nor I are in the real estate business anymore because if we were, I’m sure it this would be high on our list for places that we would think about developing.”

Trump retweeted photos of the event, thanking Netanyahu and “and the State of Israel for this great honor!”

Trump’s recognition of the annexation of Golan Heights is not the first time the US president has shown his allegiance with Netanyahu and Israel. In May, 2018, Trump transferred the US embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem causing violent protests and condemnation from much of the international community.

Trump's embassy decision broke with decades of international consensus not to recognise the city as the capital of Israel, which took over mainly Palestinian east Jerusalem in the Six-Day War and later annexed it.

Israel considers the entire city its capital, but the Palestinians see east Jerusalem as the capital of their future state.

In Netanyahu’s speech on Sunday, the prime minister said the new settlement would “drive development of the Golan Heights", vowing his government will invest in building homes and roads, as well as education and tourism facilities.

But according to critics, the task of developing the settlement still requires overcoming several additional bureaucratic obstacles and with Netanyahu running for re-election in the second national election this year, it remains unclear whether he will be able to complete the task.

Zvi Hauser, an opposition lawmaker who formerly served as Netanyahu’s Cabinet secretary, called Sunday’s ceremony a cheap PR stunt.

“There’s no funding, no planning, no location, and there’s no real binding decision,” he said.
Six-time Israeli Premier League champion Beitar Jerusalem F.C. officially renames itself Beitar Trump Jerusalem F.C. for U.S. President Donald Trump's decision to move the embassy.