Egypt and some Arab and Muslim nations have unreservedly condemned comments by the US ambassador to Israel suggesting that Israeli land grab of Palestinian territory was biblically excusable.
When Mike Huckabee was asked about a passage in the holy scriptures referring to land between the Nile and Euphrates rivers told commentator Tucker Carlson that “it was fine if Israel took all of it”. Huckabee was quick to point out that his was in the realm of hyperbole and explained that Israel was only interested in keeping the land it currently occupies.
His statement did not go down well with Egypt and other Arab Muslim countries who in a joint statement criticised the remarks by Huckabee as dangerously inflammatory, violating international law and flies in the face Washington’s bid to bring a definitive end to the war in Gaza.
Huckabee’s support for Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank is widely known.
Since the conflict with Hamas, Israeli settlers had intensified their encroachment on land in the West Bank, prompting tensions with Palestinian claimants.
WN/as/APA