US Ambassador Mike Huckabee suggested Israel has biblical claim to all of Palestine and parts of neighboring countries, drawing condemnation from Saudi Arabia.
Huckabee’s Comments on “Great Israel”
US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee referred to the concept of so-called Great Israel in an interview with Tucker Carlson. According to him, the country has a “biblical right” to take over an area including all of Palestine, Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, as well as parts of Saudi Arabia and Iraq.
“It would be fine if they took everything,” the American diplomat stated. In response to his words, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Saudi Arabia issued a statement.
Saudi Arabia’s Strong Condemnation
Saudi Arabia condemned in the strongest terms and completely rejected the statements made by the US Ambassador to Israel, in which he carelessly stated that Israeli control over the entire Middle East would be acceptable.
According to the ministry, Mike Huckabee’s words violate international law, the Charter of the United Nations, and diplomatic customs. The statement emphasized that these comments are “exceptionally serious” given that their author is an American official, and they “disregard the exceptional relations of regional countries with the United States.”
Saudi Arabia: Comments Threaten Regional Stability
The Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs assessed that the diplomat’s position is “extremist” and signals serious consequences.
“It threatens global security and peace, destabilizes regional countries and their societies, and undermines the principles of international order that have been agreed upon by the world community to limit bloody conflicts that have cost millions of human lives in the past, and that ensure respect for the geographical borders of states and their sovereignty,” the ministry wrote.
Saudi Arabia Demands US Response
The ministry also demands a “clear position” from the US State Department regarding “rhetoric rejected by all peace-loving nations around the world.”
The ministry emphasized that the Kingdom “maintains its firm and long-standing position” on respecting the sovereignty, borders and territorial integrity of states. It was also emphasized that the only path to a just and comprehensive peace is to end the occupation and implement a two-state solution that establishes an independent Palestinian state within the 1967 borders, with its capital in East Jerusalem.
