Arab nations slam US envoy over Israel expansion comments
Arab and Muslim nations on Saturday sharply condemned comments by the US ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee, who said Israel has a right to much of the Middle East. Huckabee made the comments in an interview with conservative commentator Tucker Carlson that aired Friday. Carlson said that according to the Bible, the descendants of Abraham would receive land that today would include the entire Middle East, and asked Huckabee if Israel had a right to that land.
Huckabee responded: “It would be fine if they took it all.” Huckabee added, however, that Israel was not looking to expand its territory and has a right to security in the land it legitimately holds. His comments sparked immediate backlash from neighbouring Egypt and Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Oman, the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation and the League of Arab States.
Saudi Arabia’s foreign ministry described Huckabee’s comments as “extremist rhetoric” and “unacceptable,” and called for the State Department to clarify its position on them. Egypt’s foreign ministry 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 lacking any sound basis — serve only to inflame sentiments and stir religious and national emotions,” the League of Arab States said. There was no immediate comment from Israel or the United States. Since its establishment in 1948, Israel has not had fully recognised borders. Its frontiers with Arab neighbours have shifted as a result of wars, annexations, ceasefires and peace agreements.
During the six-day 1967 Mideast 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 deal with Egypt following the 1973 Mideast war. It also unilaterally withdrew from Gaza in 2005.
Israel has attempted to deepen control of the occupied West Bank in recent months. It has greatly expanded construction in Jewish settlements, legalised 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’d block any move to do so.
Palestinians have for decades called for an independent state in the West Bank and Gaza with East Jerusalem as its Capital, a claim backed by much of the international community. Huckabee has long opposed the idea of a two-state solution for Israel and the Palestinian people. In an interview last year, he said he does not believe in referring to the Arab descendants of people who had lived in British-controlled Palestine as “Palestinians.”
In the latest interview, Carlson pressed Huckabee about his interpretation of Bible verses from the book of Genesis, where he said God promised Abraham and his descendants land from the Nile to the Euphrates. “That would be the Levant, so that would be Israel, Jordan, Syria, Lebanon. It would also be big parts of Saudi Arabia and Iraq,” Carlson said.
Huckabee replied: “Not sure we’d go that far. I mean, it would be a big piece of land.” Israel has encroached on more land since the start of its war with Hamas in Gaza. Under the current ceasefire, Israel withdrew its troops to a buffer zone but still controls more than half the territory. Israeli forces are supposed to withdraw further, though the ceasefire deal doesn’t give a timeline.
After Syrian President Bashar Assad was ousted at the end of 2024, Israel’s military seized control of a demilitarised buffer zone in Syria created as part of a 1974 ceasefire between the countries. Israel said the move was temporary and meant to secure its border. And Israel still occupies five hilltop posts on Lebanese territory following its brief war with Hezbollah in 2024. (AP)
