Israeli community named after Trump stands by U.S. president despite unpopular Iran deal

A sign reading "Ramat Trump / Trump Heights" at the entrance of Ramat Trump Moshav in the disputed Golan Heights. The community's name is an homage to the U.S. president. Photo by Jalaa Marey/AFP via Getty Images

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TRUMP HEIGHTS — As the sound of Israeli artillery shells echoed around their hilltop homes close to Lebanon, residents of Trump Heights struggled to hide their dismay at the deal to end the war with Iran, but were not giving up on their hero in the White House.

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Under the U.S.-Iran agreement announced earlier this week to end the Middle East war, fighting is also supposed to cease between Israel and the Iran-backed terrorist group Hezbollah in Lebanon.

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In Israel, the agreement is widely viewed as undermining the country’s security and its acceptance by Washington as a strategic failure for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

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In Trump Heights, a community of small prefabricated homes perched on a hilltop just 15 kilometres (nine miles) from the Lebanon border, the deal with Iran has not proved popular with residents.

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But for those living in the settlement, named in homage to the U.S. president, the agreement was not cause to completely abandon their community’s namesake.

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“We give President Trump the benefit of the doubt that he is making the right decisions for America, and that he is also trying to help his allies — and, of course, the most important ally in the region is Israel,” said 32-year-old Shlomo Schlechter.

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But “we understand that American and Israeli interests do not always go hand in hand,” the law student said, adding that he still trusted the U.S. president to make the right decision as the deal’s details are hashed out over the next 60 days.

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Like other residents AFP spoke to, Schlechter said he did not expect the deal to hold, nor Israel to withdraw from Lebanon.

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“We hope that President Trump will remain firm, and when he sees that the Iranians are not serious — as I expect will happen — he will return and know how to deal with them with a heavy hand, as he knows how to do,” he told AFP.

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From Trump Heights, Israeli artillery could be heard pounding its northern neighbour on Friday morning, after four Israeli soldiers were killed the previous night.

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By late afternoon, a U.S. official said Israel and Hezbollah had agreed a ceasefire that began at 4:00 pm local time (1300 GMT), brokered by U.S. and Qatari mediators following talks with Israel and Iran.

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“When someone does something good for you, you’re not gonna hate them right when they do something you agree a little less with,” Dalia Ben Shabbat, a 38-year-old resident of Trump Heights, told AFP.

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“Regarding President Trump himself, we’re very thankful for what he’s done for Israel until now,” the architecture student and mother-of-four said.

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Hours before the U.S.-Iran deal was announced earlier this week, Trump excoriated Netanyahu for launching attacks in Lebanon that threatened to derail it.