‘Incendiary’: Group of Arab, Muslim-Majority Countries Condemn Remarks by US Envoy to Israel
New Delhi: A group of Arab and Muslim-majority countries has condemned as “incitement” the “incendiary” remarks made by US ambassador to Tel Aviv Mike Huckabee saying Israel has a right to much of West Asia.
The statement issued jointly by the foreign ministries of Bahrain, Egypt, Indonesia, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Pakistan, Palestine, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Turkey and the UAE in addition to the Arab League, Gulf Cooperation Council and Organisation of Islamic Cooperation also reiterated the entities' support for an independent Palestinian state.
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 essentially all of West Asia, and asked Huckabee if Israel had a right to that land.
To this, Huckabee responded: “It would be fine if they took it all.” The envoy added, however, that Israel was not looking to expand its territory and has a right to security in the land it legitimately holds.
Expressing “strong condemnation and profound concern” at Huckabee's “dangerous and inflammatory” remarks, Sunday (February 22)'s joint statement said they were a “flagrant violation” of the principles of international law and the UN Charter in addition to constituting a “grave threat to the security and stability of the region”.
It underlined the signatories' rejection of any attempt to annex the West Bank or Gaza, their opposition to the “expansion of settlement activities in the Occupied Palestinian Territory” and their repudiation of any threat to the sovereignty of Arab countries.
They also said Huckabee's statements “directly contradict the vision put forward” by US President Donald Trump and Washington's ‘peace plan’ for Gaza, which they said are “based on containing escalation and creating a political horizon for a comprehensive settlement that ensures the Palestinian people have their own independent state”.
If Israel's “expansionist policies and unlawful measures” continue they will stoke unrest in the region, the countries said, calling for “incendiary” and ‘inciteful’ remarks as Huckabee's to stop.
Per a statement by the US embassy in Jerusalem quoted by Reuters, what the envoy said does not represent a change in Washington's policy. Huckabee's ‘full remarks made clear that Israel has no desire to change its current boundaries’, a spokesperson was cited as saying.
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 Arab-Israeli 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 Arab-Israeli 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. 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 its capital, a claim backed by much of the international community.
Huckabee, an evangelical Christian and 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 does not believe in referring to the Arab descendants of people who had lived in British-controlled Palestine as “Palestinians”.
In Friday's 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, which was sparked by the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on October 7, 2023.
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.
With inputs from AP.
This article went live on February twenty-second, two thousand twenty six, at two minutes past seven in the evening.The Wire is now on WhatsApp. Follow our channel for sharp analysis and opinions on the latest developments.
