Pakistan and other Muslim-majority nations have vehemently condemned US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee for suggesting he wouldn’t oppose Israel’s control of vast swathes of the Middle East. In a statement released by the Foreign Office, foreign ministers from 14 countries including Pakistan, Egypt, Jordan, the United Arab Emirates, Indonesia, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, Oman, Bahrain, Lebanon, Syria and Palestine, along with the secretariats of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), League of Arab States, and Gulf Cooperation Council, expressed profound concern and categorical rejection of Huckabee’s remarks.
Huckabee, in an interview with Tucker Carlson, argued that Israel has a biblical right to territory stretching from the Nile to the Euphrates River and suggested it would be fine if Israel took control over these lands. The joint statement released by these nations underscored that such comments violate fundamental principles of international law and threaten regional stability.
They cited Trump’s Comprehensive Plan for Peace in the Middle East as a clear vision aiming to contain escalation and create pathways towards an independent Palestinian state. These countries insisted that Israel has no sovereignty over occupied Palestinian territories or any other Arab lands, especially the West Bank, which they firmly reject any attempt to annex or separate from Gaza.
Saudi Arabia condemned Huckabee’s remarks as reckless violations of diplomatic norms and threats to international peace, while Kuwait described them as undermining sovereign rights. Oman termed these statements illegitimate and harmful to regional stability. Jordan characterized Huckabee’s comments as absurd and provocative, Egypt saw them as a flagrant violation of international law, and Iraq viewed them as an overreach infringing upon state sovereignty.
The OIC issued a warning that these remarks were based on a false narrative and constituted dangerous irresponsibility, emphasizing they directly contradict both Trump’s vision and the laws of international relations.