U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee is seen throughout an interview in Jerusalem. File.
| Picture Credit score: AP
Arab and Islamic international locations issued a joint condemnation on Sunday (February 22, 2026) of remarks by U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee, who steered Israel had a biblical proper to an unlimited swath of the West Asia.
Mr. Huckabee, a former Baptist Minister and a fervent Israel supporter, was talking on the podcast of far-right commentator and Israel critic Tucker Carlson.
In an episode launched Friday (February 20, 2026), Mr. Carlson pushed Mr. Huckabee on the that means of a biblical verse generally interpreted as saying that Israel is entitled to the land between the river Nile in Egypt and the Euphrates in Syria and Iraq.
In response, Mr. Huckabee stated: “It will be positive in the event that they took all of it.”
When pressed, nevertheless, he continued that Israel was “not asking to take all of that”, including: “It was considerably of a hyperbolic assertion.”
The backlash widened sharply on Sunday (February 22, 20260 as greater than a dozen Arab and Islamic governments —alongside three main regional organisations — issued a joint assertion denouncing the U.S. diplomat’s feedback as “harmful and inflammatory”.
The assertion, launched by the United Arab Emirates’ Overseas Ministry, was signed by the UAE, Egypt, Jordan, Indonesia, Pakistan, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, Oman, Bahrain, Lebanon, Syria and the State of Palestine, in addition to the Group of Islamic Cooperation, the Arab League and the Gulf Cooperation Council.
They stated the feedback contravene the UN Constitution and efforts to deescalate the Gaza battle and advance a political horizon for a complete settlement.
Earlier, a number of Arab states had issued unilateral condemnations.
Saudi Arabia described the Ambassador’s phrases as “reckless” and “irresponsible”, whereas Jordan stated it was “an assault on the sovereignty of the international locations of the area”.
Kuwait decried what it referred to as a “flagrant violation of the ideas of worldwide regulation”, whereas Oman stated the feedback “threatened the prospects for peace” and stability within the area.
Egypt’s Overseas Ministry reaffirmed “that Israel has no sovereignty over the occupied Palestinian territory or some other Arab lands”.
The Palestinian Authority stated on X that Mr. Huckabee’s phrases “contradict US President Donald Trump’s rejection of (Israel) annexing the West Financial institution”.
On Saturday, Mr. Huckabee revealed two posts on X additional clarifying his place on different matters touched upon within the interview, however didn’t tackle his comment in regards to the biblical verse.
The Speaker of the Israeli Parliament, Amir Ohana, praised Mr. Huckabee on X for his normal pro-Israel stance within the interview, and accused Mr. Carlson of “falsehoods and manipulations”.
Mr. Carlson has just lately discovered himself dealing with accusations of antisemitism, notably following a prolonged, uncritical interview with self-described white nationalist Nick Fuentes — a determine who has praised Hitler, denied the Holocaust and branded American Jews as disloyal.
Revealed – February 22, 2026 06:33 am IST