US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee has generated a wave of indignation among Arab and Muslim countries by declaring in an interview that, according to the Bible, Israel has a right to a vast area of “”the Middle East
In a conversation with conservative commentator Tucker Carlson, Huckabee was questioned about the biblical promise made to Abraham, in which God supposedly gave his descendants a vast land that today includes territories of nations such as Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, and even parts of Saudi Arabia.
When asked directly if Israel had a right to all of this area, the ambassador replied that “it would be great if they took it all.” He added that Israel currently has no plans for territorial expansion and that it has a legitimate right to security in the land it already controls.
Huckabee provokes outrage in the Muslim world by stating that Israel has a “biblical right” to a large part of the Middle East.
Faced with insistence on the real possibility of Israel annexing entire countries, such as Syria or Lebanon, Huckabee moderated his tone, admitting that his previous statement had been “a bit exaggerated” and that this was not exactly what he intended to say.
He added that if Israel were attacked in those territories and emerged victorious from a war, the situation would be “very different.”
The statements provoked immediate and severe reactions.
Saudi Arabia classified the words as “extremist rhetoric” and “totally unacceptable,” demanding an official statement from the US State Department.
Egypt considered the statements a “flagrant violation” of international law, reinforcing that Israel has no sovereignty over the occupied Palestinian territories or other Arab areas.
Kuwait, Oman, and other countries also vehemently condemned the statements, warning that this type of discourse threatens the peace and stability of the region.
The Arab League, composed of 22 nations, repudiated what it called an “extremist” comment, in which Huckabee allegedly defended Israeli supremacy over the Middle East based on religious interpretations of the Old Testament.
The organization emphasized that such statements violate fundamental diplomatic norms, defy reason, and inflame religious and nationalist sentiments precisely at a time of efforts to implement ceasefire agreements in Gaza and resume serious negotiations.
The Organization of Islamic Cooperation, which represents 57 Muslim-majority countries, classified the statements as “dangerous and irresponsible,” considering them an encouragement of Israeli territorial expansion based on historical and ideological narratives they deem false.
The group warned that this discourse fuels extremism and encourages illegal actions such as settlement construction, forced displacement, and annexation attempts.
The Palestinian Authority, in turn, highlighted that Huckabee’s words directly contradict the position already expressed by US President Donald Trump, who publicly rejected the annexation of Judea and Samaria.
To date, neither the Israeli government nor the United States government has issued an immediate official response to the international criticism.
The episode has reignited the debate about sovereignty, international law, and the future of the region, in a delicate context of the search for lasting peace agreements.
Published in 02/22/2026 18h31
Text adapted by AI (Grok) and translated via Google API in the English version. Images from public image libraries or credits in the caption.
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