The foreign ministers of 13 states reject the US envoy’s suggestion that Israel control territory from the Nile to the Euphrates.
The United States ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee. PHOTO: REUTERS
ISLAMABAD:
Pakistan and 13 other Muslim-majority countries have strongly condemned comments by US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee suggesting that he would not oppose Israel taking control of vast areas of the Middle East, calling the comments a flagrant violation of international law and a serious threat to regional stability.
According to a statement shared by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Sunday, the foreign ministers of Pakistan, Egypt, Jordan, the United Arab Emirates, Indonesia, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, Oman, Bahrain, Lebanon, Syria and Palestine, along with the secretariats of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, the League of Arab States and the Gulf Cooperation Council, expressed “deep concern” and categorical rejection of the envoy’s statements.
In an interview with commentator Tucker Carlson, Huckabee argued that Israel has a biblical right to the land stretching from the Nile to the Euphrates River and said that “it would be fine if they took it all,” after a reference to the territory between Iraq’s Euphrates and Egypt’s Nile.
The foreign ministers said such statements constitute “a flagrant violation of the principles of international law and the Charter of the United Nations” and pose a serious threat to regional peace and security.
The joint statement highlighted that the comments directly contradict the vision presented by US President Donald Trump and the Comprehensive Plan to End the Gaza Conflict, which they said aims to contain the escalation and create a political path towards a solution that guarantees the Palestinians an independent state.
They stressed that Israel has “no sovereignty over the occupied Palestinian territory or any other occupied Arab land” and firmly rejected any attempt to annex the West Bank or separate it from Gaza.
Separately, Saudi Arabia condemned what it described as “reckless comments” that violate diplomatic norms and threaten international peace, while Kuwait said the comments undermine sovereignty and contradict Washington’s stated vision.
Oman called the comments illegitimate and detrimental to regional stability, Jordan called them “absurd and provocative,” Egypt described them as a “flagrant departure” from international law, and Iraq said they amount to serious overreach that infringes on state sovereignty. The OIC called the comments “dangerous and irresponsible,” warning that they were based on a false and rejected narrative.
