Arab and Islamic countries have issued a joint condemnation of remarks made by United States Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee. Huckabee suggested Israel had a biblical right to a significant portion of the Middle East.
The ambassador made the comments on a podcast hosted by Tucker Carlson, where he responded to a question about a biblical verse interpreted as granting Israel land between the Nile and Euphrates rivers. Huckabee stated, "It would be fine if they took it all," later clarifying it was a hyperbolic statement.
More than a dozen Arab and Islamic governments, along with three major regional organizations, released a statement denouncing the US diplomat's comments as "dangerous and inflammatory." The statement, spearheaded by the United Arab Emirates' foreign ministry, was signed by the UAE, Egypt, Jordan, Indonesia, Pakistan, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, Oman, Bahrain, Lebanon, Syria, and the State of Palestine, as well as the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, the Arab League, and the Gulf Cooperation Council.
These nations asserted that Huckabee's remarks contravene the United Nations Charter and undermine efforts to de-escalate the Gaza war and advance a political settlement.
Earlier, several Arab states had voiced unilateral condemnations. Saudi Arabia labeled the ambassador's words "reckless" and "irresponsible," while Jordan described them as "an assault on the sovereignty of the countries of the region." Kuwait decried the comments as a "flagrant violation of the principles of international law," and Oman warned they "threatened the prospects for peace" and stability.
Egypt's foreign ministry reaffirmed that Israel holds no sovereignty over occupied Palestinian territory or any other Arab lands. The Palestinian Authority stated Huckabee's words contradict US President Donald Trump's rejection of Israeli annexation of the West Bank.
Ambassador Huckabee later published posts on X clarifying other topics from the interview but did not directly address his remark about the biblical verse. Meanwhile, the speaker of the Israeli parliament praised Huckabee's pro-Israel stance, accusing Carlson of "falsehoods and manipulations."