Overview
- In an interview aired Friday, U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee said “It would be fine if they took it all” when pressed about biblical land from the Nile to the Euphrates.
- On Sunday, more than a dozen countries — including the UAE, Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Turkey — plus the OIC, Arab League and GCC issued a joint statement calling the remark dangerous and a violation of international law.
- Saudi Arabia and other governments urged the U.S. State Department to clarify Washington’s position, with separate condemnations also issued by Egypt, Jordan, Kuwait and Oman.
- Huckabee later described his comment as “somewhat of a hyperbolic statement,” adding that Israel is not seeking to take territory beyond its current borders.
- A U.S. Embassy spokesperson said the remark signaled no change in U.S. policy, even as some Israeli politicians, including Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, praised Huckabee’s pro-Israel stance.