Several Arab countries have reacted sharply after Mike Huckabee, the US ambassador to Israel, seemed to suggest that Israel would be justified, on biblical grounds, in taking swathes of Middle East territory - remarks he subsequently walked back in the very same interview.
Huckabee, a longstanding Christian Zionist, made the initial comment during a conversation in Tel Aviv with Tucker Carlson.
Carlson, who is a vocal critic of Israel, noted that, according to the Bible, the descendants of Abraham were promised land that, under some interpretations, would encompass large parts of today’s region.
Asked whether it would therefore be acceptable for Israel to expand significantly into those areas, Huckabee initially replied: “It would be fine if they took it all,” while adding that Israel was not actively seeking to enlarge its borders and had a right to secure the territory it already holds.
However, when pressed on whether that reasoning would extend to all of modern-day Syria and Lebanon, Huckabee immediately qualified his position.
“That’s really not exactly what I’m trying to say,” he said, describing his earlier remark as “somewhat of a hyperbolic statement.”
It was his initial formulation — rather than the subsequent clarification — that prompted the angry reaction from several Arab states.
But the remarks prompted significant backlash from some key regional players.
The Egyptian Foreign Ministry called Huckabee's answer a "blatant violation" of international law, emphasising that "Israel has no sovereignty over the occupied Palestinian territory or other Arab lands."
Likewise, Saudi Arabia condemned what it called Huckabee's "extremist rhetoric", while the Arab League added that his comments "violated all the basic principles and established norms of diplomacy, as well as defying logic and reason" and "contradict US policies and positions across the board, aimed at currying favour with the right-wing public in Israel".
The US and Israel are yet to comment on the interview.
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