US ambassador says Israel has right to much of Middle East, sparking uproar

Arab and Muslim nations on Saturday sharply condemned comments by the US ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee, who said Israel has a right to much of the Middle East.Huckabee made the comments in an interview with conservative commentator Tucker Carlson that aired on Friday. Carlson said that according to the Bible, the descendants of Abraham would receive land that today would include essentially the entire Middle East, and asked Huckabee if Israel had a right to that land.Huckabee responded: “It would be fine if they took it all.” Huckabee added, however, that Israel was not looking to expand its territory and has a right to security in the land it legitimately holds.His comments sparked immediate backlash from neighbouring Egypt and Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Oman, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation and the League of Arab States.Saudi Arabia’s foreign ministry described Huckabee’s comments as “extremist rhetoric” and “unacceptable”, and called for the US State Department to clarify its position on them.Tents are erected to house displaced Palestinian families in the Gaza Strip’s al-Zahara neighbourhood on Saturday. Photo: AFPEgypt’s foreign ministry called his comments a “blatant violation” of international law, adding that “Israel has no sovereignty over the occupied Palestinian territory or other Arab lands”.