Arab and Islamic countries condemn US Ambassador Mike Huckabee's statements about Israel's “biblical right” to the Middle East
Arab and Islamic countries condemned remarks by US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee after he suggested Israel had a biblical right to a vast swath of the Middle East.
Mike Huckabee/PHOTO: The Tucker Carlson Show video capture
In an episode released Friday, Tucker Carlson asked Huckabee about the meaning of a Bible verse sometimes interpreted as indicating that Israel has a right to the territory between the Nile River in Egypt and the Euphrates in Syria and Iraq, The Guardian writes.
He insisted that Israel “it is a land that God gave, through Abraham, to a people he chose. It was a people, a place and a purpose.“
Asked directly if Israel would have the right to claim all of the territory mentioned in the biblical text, Huckabee stated: “It would be all right if he took it all.”
Later, however, he specified that Israel “don't ask to take everything”adding that “that was a somewhat hyperbolic statement.”
On Sunday, several Arab and Islamic governments, along with three major regional organizations, issued a joint statement condemning the US diplomat's comments as “dangerous and inflammatory”.
The statement, published by the UAE foreign ministry, 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 Organization of Islamic Cooperation, the Arab League and the Gulf Cooperation Council.
They said the statements run counter to the UN Charter and efforts to reduce tensions in the Gaza war and advance a political perspective for a comprehensive solution.
Previously, several Arab states issued unilateral condemnations.
Saudi Arabia described the ambassador's claims as “careless” and “irresponsible”while Jordan named them “an attack on the sovereignty of countries in the region”.
Kuwait condemned what it called “a flagrant violation of the principles of international law,” and Oman said the statements “threatened the prospects for peace and stability in the region”.
Egypt's foreign ministry reiterated “that Israel has no sovereignty over the occupied Palestinian territory or other Arab territories.”
The Palestinian Authority said on X that Huckabee's words “contradict US President Donald Trump's rejection of Israel's annexation of the West Bank.”
On Saturday, Huckabee published two posts on X in which he clarified his position on other topics discussed in the interview, but did not address his comment about the Bible verse.
Israeli parliament speaker Amir Ohana praised Huckabee on X for his generally pro-Israel stance and accused Carlson of “lies and manipulations”.
