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US ambassador to Tel Aviv blasted for remarks on Israel’s control over Mideast
Jordan on Saturday condemned remarks by US Ambassador to Tel Aviv Mike Huckabee suggesting acceptance of Israel’s control over the entire Middle East, in addition to the occupied West Bank, calling the comments “absurd and provocative.”
Mike Huckabee argued that Israel has a biblical right to the land stretching from the Nile to the Euphrates rivers, saying on a podcast released Friday: “It would be fine if they (Israel) took it all.”
Huckabee made the remarks in an interview with US journalist Tucker Carlson, during which he defended Israel’s actions in the Gaza Strip and voiced support for the idea of “divine providence” giving control of the region to Israel.
After Huckabee claimed Israel had a divine right to vast portions of the Middle East, Carlson asked him: “What land are you talking about?” Interpretations of the biblical phrase “river of Egypt” vary, with some scholars identifying it as a riverbed in the Sinai Peninsula and others as the Nile.
“It would be fine if they took it all,” Huckabee replied, referring to Israel’s biblical right to the territory stretching from the Nile River to the Euphrates.
In a statement, Jordan’s Foreign Ministry called the remarks “absurd and provocative,” saying they “constitute a violation of diplomatic norms, an infringement on the sovereignty of states in the region, and a blatant breach of international law and the UN Charter.”
The ministry added that the comments “contradict the publicly declared position of US President Donald Trump rejecting annexation of the occupied West Bank.”
The ministry called for “the concerted efforts of all parties to consolidate stability in Gaza and to implement the US president’s plan and UN Security Council Resolution 2803, instead of issuing absurd, escalatory, irresponsible statements that carry no legal value or effect.”
Huckabee, named US ambassador to Israel in April 2025, is an evangelical Christian who has previously spoken of expansionist claims based on what he described as a “divine right” for Israel in the West Bank.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told news channel i24 last August that he feels “very attached” to the vision of a Greater Israel. He said he considers himself “on a historic and spiritual mission” including “generations of Jews that dreamt of coming here and generations of Jews who will come after us.”
Greater Israel is a term used in Israeli politics to refer to the expansion of Israel’s territory to include the West Bank, Gaza and Syria’s Golan Heights, with some interpretations also including Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula and parts of Jordan.
ANEWS
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