Arab and Islamic states condemned on Sunday remarks by US ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee, after he suggested Israel would be justified in controlling vast tracts of Middle Eastern land on biblical grounds.
A joint statement led by the United Arab Emirates and backed by Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Jordan, Qatar, Indonesia, Pakistan and others denounced the comments as a “flagrant violation of international law” and a threat to regional stability. It said Israel has “no sovereignty whatsoever” over occupied Palestinian territory or any other Arab lands, and warned that expansionist rhetoric “will only inflame violence” and undermine peace efforts.
Huckabee, a former Baptist minister and staunch Israel supporter, made the remarks on a podcast hosted by US commentator Tucker Carlson. Pressed on a biblical verse sometimes interpreted as granting Israel the land between the Nile and the Euphrates, Huckabee said: “It would be fine if they took it all.” He later added the line was “somewhat of a hyperbolic statement”, saying Israel was “not asking to take all of that”.