Shafaq News- Cairo (Updated at 22:30)
The Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), the Arab League, and several Arab governments on Saturday condemned remarks by US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee suggesting he would not object if Israel expanded across much of the Middle East.
The OIC denounced the statements as “serious and irresponsible,” warning that such rhetoric undermines international law and regional stability.
Arab League Secretary-General Ahmed Aboul Gheit strongly criticized Huckabee’s remarks, which invoked biblical texts to justify Israel’s control “from the Nile to the Euphrates.” He described the comments as “extremely extremist” and contrary to established diplomatic norms.
Jordan’s Foreign Ministry called the comments “absurd and provocative.” Ministry spokesperson Ambassador Sufyan Qudah said the statements represent a breach of diplomatic norms, an infringement on the sovereignty of regional states, and a clear violation of international law and the United Nations Charter.
The Palestinian Foreign Ministry considered the statements amount to an explicit call to undermine the sovereignty of states in the region and support continued occupation and expansion.
Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the US ambassador to Israel's remarks represent a “dangerous precedent” from an American official and reflect disregard for the longstanding relations between Washington and countries in the region.
Huckabee, a Christian Zionist and close ally of US President Donald Trump, made the comments during an interview aired Friday with conservative commentator Tucker Carlson. Pressed about biblical borders that stretch from the Euphrates River in Iraq to the Nile River in Egypt —an area that would include Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, and parts of Saudi Arabia— Huckabee said, “It would be fine if they took it all.”
He later described the remark as “somewhat of a hyperbolic statement,” adding that Israel was not seeking to take over the region but leaving open the possibility of territorial expansion in the event of war.