File Photo: The national flags of the members of Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) states flying in front of the clock of the Abraj al-Bait Towers which overlooks the Grand Mosque in the holy city of Mecca. AFP
In an interview with the Amercian podcaster Tucker Carlson, the US’s ambassador to Israel claimed that Israel has a biblical right to take over the entire Middle East, or at least the big share of it.
The OIC charged that the remarks were based on false and rejected historical and ideological narrative. The organisation added that such claims violate state sovereignty, diplomatic norms, principles of international law, United Nations resolutions and the UN Charter.
The OIC General Secretariat warned that such extremist ideological rhetoric would fuel extremism and encourage Israel to continue measures it considers illegal, including displacement, settlement activity and attempts to impose annexation on the Occupied Palestinian Territory. It said these actions threaten security and stability across the region.
The OIC General Secretariat reiterated its unwavering support for the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people, foremost of which is their right to self-determination and the establishment of their independent and sovereign state on the borders of June 4, 1967, with East Jerusalem as its capital.
In the interview, Carlson asked Huckabee about the implications of a biblical verse often cited by Christian Zionists to justify support for Israel in which God promises Abraham that his descendants will receive land "from the Valley of Egypt to the Great River, the Euphrates."
He pointed out to Huckabee that this area in modern geography would include basically the entire Middle East.
"The Levant.. Israel, Jordan, Syria, Lebanon.. it’d also be big parts of Saudi Arabia and Iraq?" asked Carlson.
Huckabee, a Baptist minister and lifelong Cristian Zionist, replied: "I’m not sure it would go that far, but it would be a big piece of land," adding that "Israel is a land that God gave, through Abraham, to a people that he chose. It was a people, a place and a purpose."
After Huckabee claimed Israel had a divine right to vast portions of the Middle East, Carlson asked him to clarify “what land are you talking about?” Interpretations of the biblical phrase “River of Egypt” vary, with some scholars identifying it as a riverbed in the Sinai Peninsula and others as the Nile.
Huckabee responded, "It would be fine if they took it all."
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