By SAM MCNEIL

RAMAT TRUMP, Golan Heights (AP) — Israeli residents of “Trump Heights” welcome the election of their namesake, hoping that of Donald Trump The return to the American presidency will breathe new life into this small isolated colony in the center of the Golan Heights.

During his first term, Trump became the first and only foreign leader recognize Israel’s control over the Golan, which it seized from Syria during the 1967 Middle East war. Israel thanked it with rename this outpost after him.

But no mass influx of new residents ever materialized after that 2019 ceremony, and only a few dozen families live in Trump Heights, or “Ramat Trump” in Hebrew. Job opportunities are limited and the war waged by Israel for more than a year against Hezbollah militants in neighboring Lebanon has added to the feeling of isolation.

Trump’s election has raised hopes in the community that it will attract more members and also more funding for security improvements.

“Maybe this can bring some more awareness and maybe some support to help here and help our kids here,” said Yarden Freimann, Trump Heights community manager.

Ori Kallner, head of the Golan regional council, showed dozens of plots of land, filled with new asphalt roads, street lights and power lines, that residents have prepared for future housing developments.

“President Trump’s return to the White House is definitely making headlines,” he said.

Hanging on while war rages nearby

Kallner stood next to a metal statue of an eagle and a menorah, symbolizing the United States and Israel, as Israeli warplanes flew over the city. Two rocket explosions fired from Lebanon hit nearby hills, and just across the Lebanese border, plumes of smoke rose into the air from Israeli airstrikes.

A huge sign bearing the settlement’s name in Hebrew and English gleamed in the sun, while two large, sunburnt metal flags of Israel and the United States had become almost unrecognizable.

Surrounded by the ruins of villages fled by Syrians in the 1967 war, the city is perched above the Hula Valley, where Israel has gathered tanks, artillery and troops for its fight in Lebanon. Most towns in the valley have been evacuated. Trump Heights sends his children to a makeshift daycare in a nearby settlement after the government closed all schools in the area following the October 1 invasion of Lebanon.

“We are clawing at our fingernails to be in our own community, without being evacuated, and on the other hand, we cannot work, we cannot send our children to any educational system,” Freimann said .

Trump Heights is only about 12 kilometers from Lebanon and Syria. Fire alerts give residents about a 30-second head start to get to a bomb shelter.

Trump broke with other Golan Heights leaders

Israel annexed the Golan Heights, a strategic plateau overlooking northern Israel, in 1981 in a move that is not internationally recognized.

That changed in March 2019 when Trump, without notice, tweeted that the United States would “fully recognize” Israel’s control over the territory. His announcement sparked widespread condemnation from the international community, which considers the Golan to be occupied Syrian territory and Israeli settlements to be illegal. The Biden administration left the decision intact, but the United States remains the only country to recognize Israeli annexation.