US says ambassador's comments on Israel and the Middle East were taken
out of context
[February 23, 2026]
By MELANIE LIDMAN and SAMY MAGDY
TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — An uproar continued Sunday after the U.S.
ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee, said Israel has a right to much of
the Middle East, as more Arab and Muslim countries objected and the U.S.
said his comments were taken out of context.
Huckabee spoke in an interview with conservative commentator Tucker
Carlson that aired Friday. Carlson said that according to the Bible, the
descendants of Abraham would receive land that today would include much
of the Middle East, including parts of modern-day Jordan, Syria, Iraq
and Lebanon. He quoted from Genesis Chapter 15 and asked Huckabee if
Israel had a right to that land.
Huckabee responded: “It would be fine if they took it all.”
A spokesperson for the U.S. Embassy said Sunday that Huckabee’s comments
were taken out of context and that there is no change to U.S. policies
on Israel.
In the interview, Huckabee added: “They’re not asking to go back and
take all of that, but they are asking to at least take the land that
they now occupy, they now live in, they now own legitimately, and it is
a safe haven for them.” He added that Israel isn’t trying to take over
Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, or Iraq but is trying to protect its own people.
Condemnation by Arab countries
A joint statement Sunday by Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Bahrain, United
Arab Emirates, Qatar, Indonesia, Pakistan, Turkey, Syria, Kuwait,
Lebanon, Oman, the Palestinian Authority and several Arab governing
bodies called Huckabee’s remarks “dangerous and inflammatory” and ones
that endanger the region’s stability.
“These statements directly contradict the vision put forward by U.S.
President Donald J. Trump … based on containing escalation and creating
a political horizon for a comprehensive settlement that ensures the
Palestinian people have their own independent state,” the statement
said.
Huckabee, an evangelical Christian and strong supporter of Israel and
the West Bank settlement movement, has long opposed the idea of a
two-state solution for Israel and the Palestinian people.
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U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee poses for a photo during an
interview in Jerusalem, Aug. 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg,
file)
Carlson has been critical of U.S. support for Israel in the war in
Gaza and has come under fire for his own far-right views, including
the white-supremacist theory that says whites are being “replaced”
by people of color.
Israeli concerns about Iran
Meanwhile, tensions are high in Israel as the country prepares for a
possible attack from Iran. Iran previously said it will attack both
Israel and U.S. bases in the Middle East if the United States
attacks it.
Trump warned on Friday that limited strikes against Iran are
possible, even as the country’s top diplomat said Tehran expects to
have a proposed deal ready in the next few days following nuclear
talks with the United States.
The movements of additional U.S. warships and airplanes to the
region, with the USS Gerald R. Ford aircraft carrier near the mouth
of the Mediterranean Sea, don’t guarantee a U.S. strike on Iran, but
they bolster Trump’s ability to carry out one if he chooses.
Netanyahu warned last week that if Iran attacks Israel, they will
risk a “response that they cannot even imagine.”
Israel attacked Iran last year during indirect U.S.-Iran talks,
sparking a 12-day war. The United States inserted itself in the war
by bombing Iranian nuclear sites.
___
Magdy reported from Cairo. Associated Press writer Sam Mednick
contributed from Tel Aviv, Israel.
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