Parliament Speaker Numan Kurtulmuş has condemned Israeli narratives suggesting divine entitlement to land, saying no nation is “chosen” and warning that such rhetoric fuels injustice against Palestinians.
Speaking at an iftar dinner with foreign ambassadors in Ankara on Tuesday, Kurtulmuş said Türkiye rejects religious or ideological claims used to justify territorial expansion in the Middle East.
“We do not give any credence to beliefs about promised lands or the idea that a country belongs to a chosen people,” he said. “No people have been chosen by God, and no land has been divinely granted to any nation.”
Kurtulmuş was referring to recent comments by U.S. envoy in Israel, Mike Huckabee, who on Sunday sparked outrage by saying: "It would be acceptable for Israel to exercise control over territories belonging to Arab states, including the occupied West Bank."
Türkiye and 13 other countries condemned Huckabee’s comments, saying they constitute a "flagrant violation of the principles of international law and the Charter of the United Nations" and pose a grave threat to regional security and stability.
Huckabee, named U.S. ambassador to Israel in April 2025, is an evangelical Christian who has previously spoken of expansionist claims based on what he described as a "divine right" for Israel in the West Bank.
He argued that Israel has a "biblical right" to the land stretching from the Nile to the Euphrates rivers, saying on a podcast released Friday: "It would be fine if they (Israel) took it all."
Huckabee made the remarks in an interview with U.S. journalist Tucker Carlson, during which he defended Israel's actions in the Gaza Strip and voiced support for the idea of "divine providence" giving control of the region to Israel.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told news channel i24 last August that he feels "very attached" to the vision of a "Greater Israel." He said he considers himself "on a historic and spiritual mission," including "generations of Jews that dreamt of coming here and generations of Jews who will come after us."
"Greater Israel" is a term used in Israeli politics to refer to the expansion of Israel's territory to include the West Bank, Gaza and Syria's Golan Heights, with some interpretations also including Egypt's Sinai Peninsula and parts of Jordan.
Kurtulmuş condemned Huckabee’s “disgraceful statements” that effectively legitimize Israel’s expansionist policies and reflect a broader collapse of the international rules-based order.
“The global system has entered a period where power overrides law and international institutions, including the United Nations, have become increasingly ineffective in preventing violations of sovereignty and human rights,” Kurtulmuş said.
He described the Palestinian issue as “the common conscience of humanity,” arguing that lasting peace in the Middle East is impossible without a two-state solution and recognition of Palestinian sovereignty.
