(CNN) Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has announced a new settlement in the Golan Heights named after his "great friend" Donald Trump.

Netanyahu unveiled a sign at the proposed site of the settlement on Sunday bearing the name "Trump Heights," and thanked the US President for breaking with the international community to recognize Israeli sovereignty over the region

"We are proud that we have the opportunity to establish a new settlement and to give thanks to a great friend," Netanyahu told a celebratory cabinet meeting at the site. "We will continue to grow and develop the Golan for all of our citizens -- Jews and non-Jews together."

The Golan Heights, which was seized by Israel from Syria during the Six-Day War in 1967 and annexed in 1981, is regarded as illegally occupied territory by the global community. The UN Security Council has deemed Israel's administration of the area "null and void and without legal effect," and the UN special envoy for Syria, Geir Pedersen, recently reiterated that position.

But Trump recognized Israeli sovereignty in the region in March, two weeks before that country's elections, in what was seen as a major political gift to Netanyahu. The US is the only country in the world to recognize Israeli sovereignty in the occupied territory.

Read More