US ambassador's Israel comments condemned by Arab and Muslim nations
#Mike Huckabee#Israel#Middle East#Biblical grounds#Arab condemnation#West Bank#International law#Gaza war
📌 Key Takeaways
US Ambassador Mike Huckabee suggested Israel could claim Middle East territory on Biblical grounds
Arab and Muslim nations condemned the comments as dangerous and inflammatory
Huckabee clarified Israel wants current occupied territories, not all Biblical lands
Condemnation emphasized violation of international law and contradiction of US policy
📖 Full Retelling
US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee faced condemnation from Arab and Muslim nations worldwide after suggesting in a Friday interview with conservative commentator Tucker Carlson that Israel would be justified in taking over a vast stretch of the Middle East on Biblical grounds, with more than a dozen governments including Jordan, Egypt and the United Arab Emirates calling the comments 'dangerous and inflammatory' and a threat to efforts to end the war in Gaza. During the interview, Huckabee was asked whether Israel had a right to an area which Carlson claimed, according to the Bible, was 'essentially the entire Middle East.' The ambassador responded that 'it would be fine if it took it all,' though he quickly clarified that Israel was not seeking to do so, rather it is 'asking to at least take the land that they now occupy' and protect its people. Huckabee later described his initial remark as somewhat 'hyperbolic,' explaining that Israel is not asking to reclaim all the territories between the River Nile in Egypt and the Euphrates in Syria and Iraq, but rather wants to maintain control of land they 'now live in, they now own legitimately.' In a joint statement released by the UAE's foreign ministry on behalf of various governments and organizations, the condemnation emphasized that Huckabee had 'indicated that it would be acceptable for Israel to exercise control over territories belonging to Arab states, including the occupied West Bank.' The statement highlighted that such remarks violate international law and directly contradict President Trump's plan to end the war in Gaza, which includes efforts to create 'a political horizon for a comprehensive settlement that ensures the Palestinian people have their own independent state.' The signatories reaffirmed that 'Israel has no sovereignty whatsoever over the Occupied Palestinian Territory or any other occupied Arab lands' and reiterated their rejection of any attempts to annex the West Bank or separate it from Gaza.
🏷️ Themes
Middle East tensions, International law, Israeli-Palestinian conflict
Michael Dale Huckabee (, born August 24, 1955) is an American politician, diplomat, and Baptist minister serving as the 29th United States ambassador to Israel since 2025. A member of the Republican Party, he served as the 44th governor of Arkansas from 1996 to 2007, and ran for his party's preside...
The Middle East is a geopolitical region encompassing the Arabian Peninsula, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, the Levant, and Turkey.
The term came into widespread usage by Western European nations in the early 20th century as a replacement of the term Near East (both were in contrast to the Far East). The term ...
Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in the Southern Levant region of West Asia. It is bordered by Lebanon to the north, Syria to the northeast, Jordan to the east, and Egypt to the southwest. Israel occupies the West Bank and the Gaza Strip of the Palestinian territories, as well as...
US ambassador's Israel comments condemned by Arab and Muslim nations 3 hours ago Share Save Maia Davies Share Save Arab and Muslim governments have condemned remarks made by the US Ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee, who suggested Israel would be justified in taking over a vast stretch of the Middle East on Biblical grounds. In an interview with conservative US commentator Tucker Carlson, Huckabee was asked whether Israel had a right to an area which the host said was, according to the Bible, "essentially the entire Middle East". The ambassador said "it would be fine if it took it all". But he added Israel was not seeking to do so, rather it is "asking to at least take the land that they now occupy" and protect its people. In a joint statement, more than a dozen governments including Jordan, Egypt and the United Arab Emirates called the comments "dangerous and inflammatory", and a threat to efforts to end the war in Gaza. In the interview, released on Friday, Carlson pressed the ambassador on his interpretation of a Bible verse which the host claimed suggested Israel had a right to the land between the River Nile in Egypt and the Euphrates in Syria and Iraq. Huckabee said "it would be a big piece of land" but stressed that "I don't think that's what we're talking about here today". He later added: "They're not asking to go back to take all of that, but they are asking to at least take the land that they now occupy, they now live in, they now own legitimately, and it is a safe haven for them." He also said his earlier remark that Israel could take it "all" had been somewhat "hyperbolic". Following the interview's release, the UAE's foreign ministry released the statement on behalf of various governments and other actors expressing "strong condemnation and profound concern" regarding the comments. The statement said Huckabee had "indicated that it would be acceptable for Israel to exercise control over territories belonging to Arab states, including the occupied West...
