Image: from Vivid. X @VividProwess
By Open Chronicle Staff Sunday, February 22, 2026
JERUSALEM — A wave of diplomatic fury has swept across the Middle East this weekend as more than a dozen Arab and Muslim nations joined forces to condemn “incendiary” remarks made by the U.S. Ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee.
The controversy erupted following an interview between Huckabee and conservative commentator Tucker Carlson, aired Friday, in which the ambassador appeared to endorse an expansive biblical vision of Israeli territory that would encompass vast swaths of modern-day Arab states.
‘It Would Be Fine if They Took It All’
During the exchange, Carlson referenced biblical passages from the book of Genesis, which some interpret as a divine promise of land for the descendants of Abraham stretching from the Nile in Egypt to the Euphrates in Iraq. When Carlson asked if the modern State of Israel had a right to that land, which would include parts of Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, and Iraq, Huckabee responded: “It would be fine if they took it all.”
While Huckabee later attempted to walk back the comment, characterizing it as a “hyperbolic statement” and clarifying that Israel is “not asking to take all of that,” the remark has sparked a rare and unified display of regional outrage.
🇺🇸 🇮🇱 U.S. Ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee:
"Israel is the only real democracy in this entire part of the world, and there is real freedom in Israel that does not exist anywhere else in the Middle East."
God bless you, @GovMikeHuckabee 🙏pic.twitter.com/NvpbMzKWVf
— Vivid.🇮🇱 (@VividProwess) February 22, 2026
A Unified Backlash
On Sunday, a joint statement released via the United Arab Emirates’ foreign ministry signaled a sharp escalation in the diplomatic rift. The statement, signed by 14 countries including Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Jordan, Turkey, Pakistan, and Indonesia, denounced the comments as a “flagrant violation of international law and the UN Charter.”
The signatories, which also include the State of Palestine, Qatar, and Kuwait, warned that such rhetoric “directly contradicts” the stated peace goals of the Trump administration and “poses a grave threat to the security and stability of the region.”
“Statements of this nature, extremist and lacking any sound basis, serve only to inflame sentiments and stir religious and national emotions,” the Arab League said in a separate briefing.
Strategic Friction
The timing of the ambassador’s remarks is particularly sensitive. Regional powers noted that the comments appear to undermine the “Comprehensive Plan to End the Gaza Conflict,” a U.S.-backed framework aimed at regional de-escalation and a potential path toward a Palestinian state.
Egypt’s foreign ministry expressed “astonishment” at the remarks, reaffirming its long-standing position that Israel holds “no sovereignty” over the occupied West Bank or any other Arab lands. Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Minister, Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud, described the comments as “reckless” and a “dangerous precedent” for a high-ranking diplomat.
Domestic Reaction
In Israel, the reaction was more divided. Amir Ohana, Speaker of the Knesset, praised Huckabee on social media for his “unwavering support” of the Jewish state, while accusing the interviewer, Tucker Carlson, of “manipulation.”
Huckabee, a former Arkansas governor and Baptist minister who was confirmed as ambassador in April 2025, has a long history of supporting Israeli settlement expansion in the West Bank—territory he frequently refers to by the biblical names “Judea and Samaria.”
As of Sunday evening, the U.S. State Department has not issued a formal clarification on whether Huckabee’s comments represent a shift in official American policy.