DaysofPal — US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee has drawn sharp criticism from Arab and Muslim countries after comments suggesting that the Israeli occupation could claim sovereignty over a vast area of the Middle East.
Huckabee made the remarks during an interview with commentator Tucker Carlson, in which he was asked about biblical descriptions of land promised to the descendants of Abraham.
Responding to the notion that the territory could stretch from the Euphrates River to the Nile, Huckabee said ( Israel) taking all of it “would be fine,” a statement that would encompass parts of modern-day Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, and Saudi Arabia.
Following the backlash, the ambassador characterized his comments as exaggerated and insisted Israel was not seeking territorial expansion, emphasizing instead the country’s right to security within its current boundaries.
Governments across the region swiftly condemned the remarks.
Egypt, Jordan, and Saudi Arabia issued statements denouncing the comments as inflammatory and inconsistent with international law, while the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation and the League of Arab States described them as provocative and destabilizing.
Saudi Arabia’s foreign ministry labeled the statements “extremist rhetoric” and called on the United States to clarify its official position.
Egypt’s foreign ministry said the comments violated international law, stressing that the Israeli occupation has no sovereignty over the occupied Palestinian territories or other Arab lands.
Jordan likewise rejected the remarks as “absurd and provocative,” warning they undermine diplomatic norms and regional stability.
Huckabee, nominated by Donald Trump in 2024, has long opposed the establishment of a Palestinian state and has previously questioned Palestinian national identity.
His views align with a broader current among some Israeli leaders who advocate expanded borders under the concept of a “Greater Israel.”
The controversy comes amid longstanding disputes over territory in the region. In 2024, the International Court of Justice ruled that Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territories violates international law.
The Israeli occupation also controls the Golan Heights, a Syrian territory annexed in 1981 in a move not widely recognized internationally.
Analysts warn that rhetoric suggesting sweeping territorial claims risks inflaming tensions across an already volatile region, particularly at a time of ongoing conflicts and fragile diplomatic relations.
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