US Ambassador's Israel Land Claims Spark Regional Condemnation
Arab and Muslim governments have strongly condemned remarks made by the US Ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee, who suggested that Israel would be justified in taking control of a vast area of the Middle East based on Biblical grounds.
During an interview with conservative US commentator Tucker Carlson, Huckabee was asked whether Israel had a right to a territory which Carlson described, citing the Bible, as "essentially the entire Middle East."
The ambassador responded,
"it would be fine if it took it all"but clarified that Israel was not seeking to do so. Instead, he said Israel is
"asking to at least take the land that they now occupy"and to protect its people.
In response, more than a dozen governments, including Jordan, Egypt, and the United Arab Emirates, issued a joint statement condemning the comments as
"dangerous and inflammatory"and a threat to efforts aimed at ending the war in Gaza.
Details of the Interview
The interview, released on Friday, featured Carlson pressing Huckabee on his interpretation of a Bible verse that Carlson claimed granted Israel rights to land stretching from the River Nile in Egypt to the Euphrates in Syria and Iraq.
Huckabee acknowledged that this would encompass
"a big piece of land"but emphasized,
"I don't think that's what we're talking about here today."
He further explained,
"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 also described his earlier comment about Israel potentially taking it "all" as somewhat
"hyperbolic."
Official Regional Response
Following the interview's release, the UAE's foreign ministry issued a statement on behalf of various governments and organizations expressing
"strong condemnation and profound concern"regarding Huckabee's remarks.
The statement highlighted 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."
It further stated that these remarks violated international law and contradicted US President Donald Trump's plan to end the Gaza war, which includes efforts to establish
"a political horizon for a comprehensive settlement that ensures the Palestinian people have their own independent state."
The statement reaffirmed that
"Israel has no sovereignty whatsoever over the Occupied Palestinian Territory or any other occupied Arab lands."
It reiterated a firm rejection of any attempts to annex the West Bank or separate it from the Gaza Strip, expressed strong opposition to the expansion of settlement activities in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, and categorically rejected any threats to the sovereignty of Arab states.
The statement was signed by the UAE, Egypt, Jordan, Indonesia, Pakistan, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, Oman, Bahrain, Lebanon, Syria, and the State of Palestine, as well as the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, the Arab League, and the Gulf Cooperation Council.
Background on Settlements and Regional Context
Mike Huckabee has frequently voiced support for Israeli annexation of the occupied West Bank, a stance that contradicts decades of US policy.
Since Israel occupied the West Bank and East Jerusalem during the 1967 Middle East war, it has built approximately 160 settlements housing around 700,000 Jewish residents. Palestinians seek these territories, along with Gaza, for a prospective future state. Approximately 3.3 million Palestinians live alongside these settlements.
International law considers these settlements illegal, a position supported by a 2024 advisory opinion from the International Court of Justice (ICJ). Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu dismissed the ICJ ruling as a
"decision of lies"and asserted that
"the Jewish people are not occupiers in their own land."
While successive Israeli governments have permitted settlement growth, expansion has accelerated sharply since Netanyahu returned to power in late 2022, leading a right-wing, pro-settler coalition. This increase has coincided with the onset of the Gaza war, triggered by Hamas's deadly attack on Israel on 7 October 2023.
According to Gaza's Hamas-run health ministry, more than 72,000 Palestinians have been killed in Israel's subsequent military offensive.
