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Türkiye's ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) strongly condemned U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee's remarks endorsing Israel's biblical claims to vast portions of the Middle East, calling his support for the killing of children in Gaza "inhuman and horrific."
AK Party Deputy Chairman and Spokesperson Omer Celik reacted on Monday, Feb. 23, to Huckabee's statements in a post on social media, saying Israel has no right or sovereignty over the occupied Palestinian territories or other occupied Arab lands.
"The U.S. ambassador to Israel supporting the killing of children in Gaza by the Netanyahu government is an inhuman and horrific approach," Celik said.
"This ambassador's advocacy of the 'Greater Israel' project, which aims to seize the territories of some Arab states through a theo-political approach, is against the most fundamental principles of law and human values," he added.
"We fundamentally reject and condemn in the strongest terms this approach that threatens brotherly states by advocating Israeli dominance in the Middle East," Celik noted.
Huckabee argued in an interview with U.S. journalist Tucker Carlson, released Feb. 20, that Israel has a "biblical right" to the land stretching from the Nile to the Euphrates rivers.
"It would be fine if they took it all," Huckabee said, referring to Israel's biblical claim to the territory, adding that, "But I don't think that's what we're talking about here today. ... They don't want to take it over, they're not asking to take it over."
Huckabee said Israel is referring to the territory where the State of Israel currently exists and seeks to live in peace, emphasizing that Israel is not attempting to take control of Jordan, Syria, Iraq or any other country, but wants to safeguard its population.
AK Party Deputy Chairman and Spokesperson also stated that Israel's attempts to annex the West Bank or separate the Gaza Strip constitute "spatial genocide" and the expansion of settlement activities in the occupied Palestinian territories is "open aggression."
"Defending the killing of children is murder and genocide. Occupying the homes and lands of Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank is part of the politics of genocide. These are attacks on all human values," Celik said.
He noted that President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has repeatedly asked from the United Nations podium, "Where are Israel's borders?" warning the world for years against the aggressive and occupationist mentality.
"Every development has revealed how justified our president's warnings from the UN podium have been for years," Celik stated.
On the question of Israel's nuclear capabilities raised during the Carlson interview, Huckabee did not deny that Israel possesses nuclear weapons.
He argued that Iran poses a genuine threat because of its nuclear ambitions, saying: "What are the costs if they were to get a nuclear bomb? They've said for 47 years, 'Death to America.' They've targeted us. They've targeted President Trump specifically."
Fourteen countries and three regional organizations on Sunday, Feb. 22, condemned Huckabee's remarks in a joint statement.
The foreign ministries of Türkiye, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Indonesia, Kuwait, Palestine, Qatar, Oman, Pakistan, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Syria and the United Arab Emirates expressed "strong condemnation and profound concern" over the comments.
Huckabee had said "it would be acceptable for Israel to exercise control over territories belonging to Arab states, including the occupied West Bank."
Celik reaffirmed Ankara's commitment to a sovereign and united Palestinian state based on 1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital.
"The fight against the genocide organization is a fight to defend humanity and civilization. Our president and Türkiye stand at the forefront of the alliance of humanity against this genocide organization, standing on the right and just side of history," Celik said.
"The question everyone must ask today in the name of peace, law, justice and humanity is the question our president has asked repeatedly from the UN podium: Where are Israel's borders?," he concluded.
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