Mike Huckabee’s statements to Tucker Carlson reveal a systematic alignment of US diplomacy with maximalist Israeli expansionism, destabilising the region, normalising crimes under the guise of divine mandate, and exposing complicity among regional powers.

When Scripture Overrides Statute:

In a televised interview that sent tremors through diplomatic and intelligence circles alike, US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee explicitly endorsed Israeli sovereignty over a territory spanning the modern Middle East, invoking biblical scripture as justification. The map he referenced, extending from the Nile to the Euphrates, ignores recognised borders, the UN Charter, and decades of international law.

Huckabee stated plainly: “It would be fine if they took it all.” While later calling the remark “hyperbolic,” the statement cannot be disentangled from the wider architecture of US-Israel policy under the Trump administration: it signals the normalisation of religiously motivated expansionism within the highest levels of American diplomacy.

Theology As Policy: Justifying Conquest Through Faith.

The two-hour interview with Tucker Carlson revealed a deliberate blurring of faith and statecraft. Huckabee framed territorial conquest as divinely sanctioned, effectively providing a theological rationale for potential military aggression.

When Carlson pressed whether this logic undermined the sovereignty of existing nations, Huckabee responded ambiguously: “If they end up getting attacked by all these places, and they win that war, and they take that land, OK, that’s a whole other discussion.”

By framing aggression as a defensible outcome of divine favour, Huckabee positions the US as a tacit enabler of violations of the UN Charter’s prohibition on conquest by force.

The “Greater Israel” Doctrine: From Fringe Theology To Operational Policy.

Huckabee’s invocation of Genesis 15 is more than personal piety; it reflects the diplomatic articulation of a maximalist ideology long confined to the margins of Zionist thought. The vision of Eretz Yisrael HaShlema, stretching from the Nile to the Euphrates, has moved from revisionist platforms to the de facto framework of US diplomatic signalling in the region.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, self-styled heir to Ze’ev Jabotinsky, has cast his military campaigns as divinely ordained, justifying mass killings and territorial expansion. By asserting that Israeli acquisition of territory would be “fine” if it results from war, Huckabee effectively validates an operational strategy condemned repeatedly by international law: forced displacement, ethnic cleansing, and targeted killings of Palestinian populations.

The coordination is unmistakable: Huckabee amplifies rhetoric echoing Netanyahu and senior figures like Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who explicitly frames Israeli expansion into neighbouring states as a divine imperative. This is a blueprint for destabilisation, cloaked in religious language, that seeks to legitimise conquest, demographic engineering, and regional domination.

Deliberate Destabilisation And Religious Incitement:

The biblical framing serves as a strategic weapon: turning political disputes into an apocalyptic religious war in which compromise is heresy and annihilation becomes a divine imperative.

Netanyahu’s invocation of the “Amalekites” during Gaza incursions, referring to a people the Bible commands Israel to destroy entirely, illustrates this dangerous calculus. Huckabee’s refusal to condemn such language further entwines US diplomacy with extremist justification for mass violence.

Smotrich’s explicit calls to expand Jerusalem to Damascus confirm that the “Greater Israel” agenda is operational, not rhetorical. The systematic destabilisation of Jordan, Lebanon, and Syria, through diplomatic delegitimisation, military pressure, and intelligence operations, is core to this expansionist project.

Timeline Of Coordinated Expansion: Rhetoric Meets Policy.

A review of key milestones shows the operational logic linking Huckabee’s statements, Israeli policy, and international law violations:

• June 2024: ICJ rules Israel’s occupation illegal; Israel rejects the ruling.
• August 2024: Netanyahu frames military campaigns as divinely mandated, invoking the “Amalekites.”
• June 2025: Huckabee declares the two-state solution obsolete; US State Department distances itself.
• October 2025: Huckabee dismisses ICJ and ICC rulings as “rogue organisations.”
• September 2025: UN Commission of Inquiry finds Israeli actions in Gaza meet genocide thresholds.
• February 15, 2026: Israel announces West Bank land registration initiative, formalising occupation.
• February 19, 2026: UN Human Rights Office documents forced displacement, destruction, and denial of aid; High Commissioner Türk warns of demographic engineering.
• February 20, 2026: Huckabee endorses biblical expansion in Carlson interview, deflects questions on civilian harm and sovereignty.
• February 21, 2026: Jordan, Egypt, and the Arab League condemn Huckabee’s remarks as destabilising threats.

This timeline demonstrates deliberate coordination: theological justification, diplomatic reinforcement, operational execution, and resource-driven objectives converge to systematically undermine Palestinian sovereignty.

Regional Repercussions And Muslim Nations’ Complicity:

Huckabee’s rhetoric triggered immediate backlash:

• Jordan condemned the remarks as violations of international law and prior US assurances.
• Arab League Secretary-General Ahmed Aboul Gheit warned of intensified religious and national tensions.
• Egypt, whose Nile water security is vital, interpreted biblical claims as a direct threat to sovereignty.

Yet the response of many other Muslim-majority states has been notable for passive acquiescence or tacit support, reflecting political expediency over Palestinian solidarity:

• Gulf states, including Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Bahrain, have quietly maintained intelligence and security cooperation with Israel, prioritising strategic alignment against Iran over Palestinian rights.
• Qatar and Oman, while rhetorically supportive of Palestinians, have not challenged US-Israel actions meaningfully, allowing the normalisation of expansionist rhetoric to continue unchecked.
• Turkey, under President Erdoğan, has focused on its regional ambitions rather than directly confronting Israel, enabling de facto impunity.

This complicity amplifies the destabilisation risk: regional actors are not neutral observers but participants in the environment that enables territorial expansion, demographic engineering, and human rights violations.

Ethnic Cleansing And Forced Displacement: UN Documentation.

The UN Human Rights Office’s February 19, 2026, report documents systematic efforts to effect permanent demographic change in Gaza and the West Bank:

• Destruction of entire neighbourhoods and denial of humanitarian aid in Gaza
• Forcible displacement across occupied territories
• Arbitrary detention and unlawful demolition in the West Bank

High Commissioner Volker Türk warned of “rapid steps to change the demography of the occupied Palestinian territory permanently,” a direct echo of the classic definition of ethnic cleansing.

Israeli bureaucratic mechanisms, including the February 2026 West Bank land registration initiative, formalise occupation and dispossess Palestinians on paper, achieving through administration what weapons achieve through force.

Mass Killings And Genocidal Practices:

Human Rights Watch’s World Report 2026 documents atrocities meeting the threshold for genocide:

• 69,000+ Palestinians killed, including 19,000+ children
• 463 starved to death, including 157 children
• 78% of Gaza buildings and 97% of schools were damaged or destroyed
• 793 attacks on healthcare facilities; 983 killed
• 220 journalists killed

UN investigators conclude that deliberate starvation, destruction of civilian infrastructure, and forced displacement “may constitute genocide” if the intent to destroy a group is established. ICJ orders to halt military offensives, including in Rafah, have been ignored.

Material Motives Behind Theological Justifications:

Religious rhetoric conceals concrete strategic interests:

• Natural resources: Gaza’s offshore gas fields; fertile West Bank lands
• Water control: Mountain aquifers supply Israel, while Palestinian access is restricted
• Economic nullification: Destruction of agriculture and infrastructure ensures permanent Palestinian dependency and prevents state viability

Huckabee’s biblical framing masks materially motivated conquest as a divine mandate.

Defiance Of International Law:

Israel’s occupation continues despite ICJ rulings, UN resolutions, and human rights findings. Administrative annexation, destruction of infrastructure, and US arms support maintain impunity. Huckabee’s statements serve as diplomatic cover, signalling tacit US complicity.

Erasure: Cultural, Physical, And Political:

Beyond death and displacement, Israeli operations target Palestinian societal infrastructure:

• Universities, hospitals, and libraries were destroyed
• Residential neighbourhoods razed
• Journalists, paramedics, doctors and rescue workers targeted

This constitutes systematic erasure of Palestinian presence, history, and identity, creating conditions for permanent elimination as a people.

Conclusion: Huckabee, “Greater Israel,” And The Logic Of Elimination

Mike Huckabee’s endorsement of biblical territorial claims is inseparable from the broader “Greater Israel” project, a strategy whose operational logic is both stark and terrifying:

• Elimination of Palestinian presence through death and displacement
• Denial of political rights and self-determination
• Destruction of cultural and societal infrastructure
• Creation of conditions making continued existence impossible

Huckabee’s remarks are not rhetorical missteps; they are the diplomatic articulation of an ideology already enacted on the ground. The United States, by failing to restrain or condemn such statements, and by continuing to supply Israel with arms and diplomatic cover, has become a direct enabler of this project. Complicity, whether active or passive, by regional Muslim-majority states compounds the crisis, allowing US-Israeli maximalism to proceed unchallenged, emboldening expansionist rhetoric, and normalizing crimes under the guise of divine mandate.

Religious justification masks material ambitions: control over water, natural resources, strategic territory, and economic infrastructure. Meanwhile, bureaucratic initiatives like West Bank land registration institutionalize occupation, translating ideology into enduring facts on the ground. Civilians are displaced, cities and farms are destroyed, and generations of Palestinians face a future defined by dependency, starvation, and systemic erasure.

The stakes are existential. This alignment of theology, state power, and regional complicity is not merely destabilising, but constitutes a deliberate, systematic threat to Palestinian survival and regional stability. As UN High Commissioner Volker Türk warned, “Impunity is not abstract; it kills. Accountability is indispensable.”

The international community now faces a stark choice: treat Huckabee’s statements as rogue hyperbole or confront them as the explicit articulation of a policy already enacted, tens of thousands dead, millions displaced, and a society erased. The consequences of inaction are existential for the Palestinian people and destabilising for the entire region. Failure to respond decisively signals that scripture, state power, and strategic complicity can override international law, sovereignty, and human rights, setting a dangerous precedent with implications far beyond the Palestinian territories.