US Ambassador Huckabee Sparks Outrage in Several Countries with Claim that Israel Has Right to Larger Part of Middle East

(Patria) - Arab and Muslim nations sharply condemned comments by US Ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee, last night, who said Israel has the right to a larger part of the Middle East, AP reported.

Huckabee made these comments in an interview with conservative commentator Tucker Carlson that aired on Friday. Carlson said that, according to the Bible, the descendants of Abraham would be given the land that would today include the entire Middle East, and asked Huckabee if Israel had a right to that land.

Huckabee replied: "It would be okay for them to take all of it." Huckabee, however, added that Israel does not want to expand its territory and has the right to security on the land it legitimately possesses.

His comments drew immediate reactions from neighboring Egypt and Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Oman, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, and the Arab League. The Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs described Huckabee's comments as "extremist rhetoric" and "unacceptable," and called on the State Department to clarify its position.

The Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs called his comments a "blatant violation" of international law, adding that "Israel has no sovereignty over the occupied Palestinian territory or other Arab lands."

"Statements of this nature, extremist and without any solid basis, only serve to inflame feelings and incite religious and national emotions," the Arab League stated.

There were no immediate comments from Israel or the United States.
Since its establishment in 1948, Israel has not fully recognized its borders. Its borders with Arab neighbors have shifted as a result of wars, annexions, ceasefires, and peace agreements.

During the 1967 Six-Day War, Israel captured the West Bank and East Jerusalem from Jordan, Gaza and the Sinai Peninsula from Egypt, and the Golan Heights from Syria. Israel withdrew from the Sinai Peninsula as part of a peace agreement with Egypt after the 1973 Middle East War. It also unilaterally withdrew from Gaza in 2005.

In recent months, Israel has been attempting to deepen its control over the occupied West Bank. It has significantly expanded construction in Jewish settlements, legalized outposts, and made significant bureaucratic changes to its policies in the territory. US President Donald Trump has said he will not allow Israel to annex the West Bank and has offered strong assurances that he will block any move in that direction.

For decades, Palestinians have called for an independent state in the West Bank and Gaza with East Jerusalem as its capital, a position supported by much of the international community.

Huckabee, an evangelical Christian and a strong supporter of Israel and the West Bank settlement movement, has long opposed the idea of a two-state solution for Israel and the Palestinian people. In an interview last year, he said he did not believe in calling the Arab descendants of people who lived in Palestine under British control "Palestinians."

In the interview, Carlson pressed Huckabee on his interpretation of biblical verses from the Book of Genesis, which state that God promised Abraham and his descendants the land from the Nile to the Euphrates.

"That would be the Levant, so Israel, Jordan, Syria, Lebanon. That would also be large parts of Saudi Arabia and Iraq," Carlson said.

Huckabee responded: "I'm not sure we'd go that far. I mean, that would be a lot of land."

Israel has occupied more territory since the start of the war with Hamas in Gaza, which was triggered by Hamas's attack on southern Israel on October 7, 2023.

Under the current ceasefire, Israel has withdrawn troops into a buffer zone but still controls more than half of the territory. Israeli forces are expected to withdraw further, although the ceasefire agreement does not provide a timeline.

After Syrian President Bashar al-Assad was overthrown at the end of 2024, the Israeli military took control of a demilitarized buffer zone in Syria, created as part of the 1974 ceasefire. Israel said the move was temporary and intended to secure its border.

Israel continues to occupy five positions in Lebanese territory following the 2024 war with Hezbollah.