The U.S. envoy in Israel, Mike Huckabee, was the target of criticism by Türkiye’s ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party). The party’s vice chair and spokesperson Ömer Çelik said Huckabee’s remarks in support of the Netanyahu administration’s killing of children in Gaza were “horrible and inhumane.”
Fourteen countries and three regional organizations on Sunday condemned remarks by Mike Huckabee, who said "it would be acceptable for Israel to exercise control over territories belonging to Arab states, including the occupied West Bank."
In a joint statement, the Foreign Ministries of Türkiye, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Indonesia, Kuwait, Palestine, Qatar, Oman, Pakistan, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Syria and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) expressed "strong condemnation and profound concern" over the comments.
The statement was also issued with the participation of the secretariats of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), the League of Arab States, and the Gulf Cooperation Council.
The ministries described the U.S. envoy's remarks as "dangerous and inflammatory," 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.
They said the comments directly contradict the vision put forward by U.S. President Donald Trump and the Comprehensive Plan to End the Gaza Conflict, which is based on containing escalation and creating a political horizon for a comprehensive settlement that ensures the Palestinian people have their own independent state.
The signatories said "the plan is grounded in promoting tolerance and peaceful coexistence," warning that attempts "to legitimize control over the lands of others undermine these objectives, fuel tensions," and amount to incitement rather than advancing peace.
The ministries "reaffirmed that Israel has no sovereignty over the Occupied Palestinian Territory or any other occupied Arab lands," the statement noted. "They reiterated their firm rejection of any attempts to annex the West Bank or separate it from the Gaza Strip, their strong opposition to the expansion of settlement activities in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, and their categorical rejection of any threat to the sovereignty of Arab states."
The statement warned that "the continuation of Israel's expansionist policies and unlawful measures will only inflame violence and conflict in the region and undermine prospects for peace."
The signatories called for an end to what they termed "incendiary statements" and reiterated their "commitment to the inalienable right of the Palestinian people to self-determination and to the establishment of an independent state" along the June 4, 1967 lines, as well as to ending the occupation of all Arab lands.
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.
In his social media post released on Monday, Çelik said Israel had no right or sovereignty on Palestinian and Arab lands it occupied, and any threat by Israel to “our brotherly Arab states” was “illegitimate.” Çelik reiterated his earlier remarks on Israel’s attempts to annex the West Bank, which he defined as “a spatial genocide.”
In the same interview with Carlson, Huckabee has defended the use of lethal force by Israel against Palestinian children. Çelik described these statements as “horrible.” He argued that the ambassador’s remarks ran against most basic principles of law and humanitarian values, as the latter defended the “Greater Israel project” and “theft of land from Arab states." “Replacing theological, fanatical claims with international law may have dire consequences in the region. We reject Israel’s threatening approach based on claims of sovereignty across the region,” he said.
Çelik reiterated that AK Party chairperson, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, repeatedly questioned Israel’s moves at U.N. General Assemblies, recalling how Erdoğan warned the world against Israel’s aggressive and expansionist mindset. “Every development demonstrates that Mr. President was right in his warnings,” he said.
Çelik also stated it was itself murder and genocide to defend the killing of children. He pointed out that Israel’s policy of genocide also included the occupation of Palestinian homes in Gaza and the West Bank, and these constituted an attack on humanitarian values. “Fighting against this mindset is a fight for humanity. Resisting these barbaric acts should be the first and foremost action in the name of humanity,” he said. He pledged that they would continue their struggle to defend the establishment of a sovereign State of Palestine based on the 1967 borders and with East Jerusalem as its capital, and against enemies of humanity who committed genocide in the Palestinian territories.
“Fighting this gang of genocide is a fight to defend humanity and civilization. Our president, Türkiye are at the forefront of the alliance of humanity against this gang; they are on the right side of history,” Çelik also said.
