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More than a dozen Arab and Muslim countries issued a joint condemnation Sunday of remarks by U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee, who suggested Israel had a biblical right to a vast swath of the Middle East.
Huckabee, a former Baptist minister and outspoken supporter of Israel, made the comments during an appearance on the podcast of far-right commentator Tucker Carlson.
In an episode released Friday, Carlson asked Huckabee about a biblical verse sometimes interpreted as granting Israel entitlement to land stretching from the Nile River in Egypt to the Euphrates River in Syria and Iraq.
“It would be fine if they took it all,” Huckabee said.
When pressed further, he added that Israel was “not asking to take all of that,” describing his earlier comment as “somewhat of a hyperbolic statement.”
The backlash expanded Sunday as more than a dozen Arab and Islamic governments, along with three major regional organizations, issued a joint statement denouncing the remarks as “dangerous and inflammatory.”
The statement, released by the United Arab Emirates’ foreign ministry, was signed by the UAE, Egypt, Jordan, Indonesia, Pakistan, Türkiye, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, Oman, Bahrain, Lebanon, Syria and the State of Palestine.
It was also endorsed by the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, the Arab League and the Gulf Cooperation Council.
The signatories said the ambassador’s comments contravene the U.N. Charter and undermine efforts to de-escalate the Gaza war and advance a political horizon for a comprehensive settlement.
Iran’s foreign ministry also criticized Huckabee on X, accusing him of revealing “American active complicity” in what it described as Israel’s “expansionist wars of aggression” against Palestinians.
Before the joint statement, several Arab states had issued separate condemnations.
Saudi Arabia described the remarks as “reckless” and “irresponsible.” Jordan called them “an assault on the sovereignty of the countries of the region.”
Kuwait said the comments amounted to a “flagrant violation of the principles of international law,” while Oman said they “threatened the prospects for peace” and stability in the region.
Egypt’s foreign ministry reiterated that “Israel has no sovereignty over the occupied Palestinian territory or any other Arab lands.”
The Palestinian Authority said on X that Huckabee’s comments “contradict U.S. President Donald Trump’s rejection of (Israel) annexing the West Bank.”
On Saturday, Huckabee posted two messages on X clarifying his position on other issues discussed in the interview, but did not address his remarks regarding the biblical verse.
Amir Ohana, speaker of the Israeli parliament, praised Huckabee on X for his pro-Israel stance in the interview and accused Carlson of “falsehoods and manipulations.”
Carlson has recently faced accusations of antisemitism, particularly after conducting a lengthy and uncritical interview with self-described white nationalist Nick Fuentes, who has praised Hitler, denied the Holocaust and described American Jews as disloyal.
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