Senior officials in the Trump administration have approached several Arab countries in recent days to soften their anger - this after the US ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee, said in an interview that Israel has a biblical right to control large parts of the Middle East.
Huckabee's conversation with anti-Israeli anchor Tucker Carlson, who came to Israel specifically to conduct the interview, which took place at Ben Gurion Airport, sparked great outrage in the Arab and Muslim world.
According to a report last night (Monday) on the news website Politico, government officials made it clear to concerned Arab countries that the ambassador's statements in the conversation reflect his "personal positions only" and do not constitute a change in official government policy.
During the interview, Carlson turned to Huckabee and asked: "Tell me, as a theologian, if I'm wrong, but it's 'from the Euphrates to Egypt,' and that basically includes the entire Middle East. That's the Levant - meaning Israel, Jordan, Syria, Lebanon. It also includes large parts of Saudi Arabia and Iraq.".
Huckabee replied: "I'm not sure it will go that far, but it will be a large area. Israel is a land that God gave, through Abraham, to the people he chose. It is about a people, a place and a purpose.".
When Carlson pressed him to answer whether Israel has a right to all of the described land, Huckabee said: "It would be fine if they took it all," but was quick to qualify and clarify that Israel does not seek to do so.
Several countries - including Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Jordan and the United Arab Emirates - condemned the US ambassador's remarks. The countries called Huckabee's statements "dangerous and inflammatory" and noted that they directly contradicted Trump's plans regarding the Gaza Strip.
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