By Tim Lister, NCS
(NCS) — The US ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee has stated it could be “fine” if Israel took management of an enormous swathe of the Middle East, drawing a swift rebuke from regional and different majority-Muslim states.
Suggesting even nominal support for Israeli sovereignty over a lot of the Middle East is an unprecedented departure from American international coverage. It additionally goes nicely past what a lot of Israel’s far-right is prepared to name for publicly.
Nearly each Middle Eastern nation other than Israel condemned Huckabee’s comments in a joint statement on Sunday.
In an interview with US conservative commentator Tucker Carlson, the ambassador was requested about his understanding of a biblical verse suggesting that land together with components of Egypt, Syria and Iraq had been divinely promised to the Jewish individuals.
Carlson stated that in accordance to the Old Testament, the boundaries can be “basically the entire Middle East.”
He continued: “Does Israel have the right to that land?”
“Not sure we’d go that far,” Huckabee stated in reply. “It would be a big piece of land.”
Carlson then pressed him: “Does Israel have the right to that land?”
“It would be fine if they took it all,” Huckabee responded, earlier than including: “I don’t think that’s what we’re talking about here today.”
Carlson requested: “You think it would be fine if the state of Israel took over all of Jordan?”
“They’re not trying to take over Jordan. They’re not trying to take over Syria. They’re not trying to take over Iraq or anywhere else, but they do want to protect their people,” Huckabee responded.
“I think you’re missing something because 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,” Huckabee added.
An announcement led by the United Arab Emirates and backed by Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Jordan, Qatar and others denounced Huckabee’s comments as “dangerous and inflammatory.” Muslim-majority international locations outdoors the area, reminiscent of Turkey, Indonesia and Pakistan, additionally signed on to the denunciation.
The Arab and Islamic states assertion added that Huckabee’s remarks had been a “flagrant violation of international law” that jeopardized US President Donald Trump’s plans for Gaza, a few of which had been outlined earlier this week on the Board of Peace assembly in Washington.
They stated “the continuation of Israel’s expansionist policies and unlawful measures will only inflame violence and conflict in the region and undermine the prospects for peace and called for an end to these incendiary statements.”
The Palestinian international ministry stated Saturday that Huckabee’s remarks “contradict religious and historical facts, international law, and the position expressed by US President Donald Trump rejecting the annexation of the West Bank.”
In November 2024, shortly after Trump introduced Huckabee as his decide for ambassador to Israel, Huckabee made clear that he helps Israel’s annexation of the occupied West Bank.
He informed Israel’s Army Radio: “I won’t make the policy, I will carry out the policy of the president. But (Trump) has already demonstrated in his first term that there’s never been an American president that has been more helpful in securing an understanding of the sovereignty of Israel.”
But final September Trump said: “I will not allow Israel to annex the West Bank. Nope, I will not allow it. It’s not going to happen.”
NCS has reached out to the State Department for touch upon Huckabee’s remarks.
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NCS’s Max Saltman and Jonny Hallam contributed.