Trump picks pro-settlement Mike Huckabee as US ambassador to Israel

Trump’s erstwhile Republican rival has a history of support for forbidden settlements successful nan occupied West Bank.

President-elect Donald Trump has announced nan information of his erstwhile 2016 Republican superior predetermination force Mike Huckabee to nan station of United States ambassador to Israel.

“I americium pleased to denote that nan Highly Respected erstwhile Governor of Arkansas, Mike Huckabee, has been nominated to beryllium The United States Ambassador to Israel…”, Trump wrote via his TruthSocial level connected Tuesday.

Huckabee, who served arsenic Arkansas politician from 1996 to 2007, besides made 2 unsuccessful bids for president during nan 2008 and 2016 Republican superior campaigns.

His daughter, existent Arkansas Governor Sarah Huckabee-Sanders, besides served arsenic Trump’s property caput for portion of his first word arsenic president, from 2017 to 2019.

“Mike has been a awesome nationalist servant, Governor, and Leader successful Fatih for galore years. He loves Israel, and nan group of Israel, and likewise, nan group of Israel emotion him”, a connection attached to Trump’s TruthSocial station read. “Mike will activity tirelessly to bring astir Peace successful nan Middle East!”

Huckabee is noted for his Evangelical Christian faith, which he ties intimately to his policies and beliefs connected Israel, declaring connected respective occasions that nan occupied West Bank is biblically portion of Israeli territory.

“There are definite words I garbage to use. There is nary specified point arsenic a West Bank. It’s Judea and Samaria. There’s nary specified point arsenic a settlement. They’re communities, they’re neighbourhoods, they’re cities. There’s nary specified point arsenic an occupation,” he said connected CNN successful 2017.

In 2015, during his tally for president, Huckabee attended a fundraiser for American citizens successful nan Israeli colony of Shiloh, describing nan West Bank, which he again referred to arsenic “Judea and Samaria”, nan territory’s biblical sanction – arsenic a basal portion of Israel.

Israeli settlements successful nan occupied West Bank are forbidden nether world law.

Trump’s prime for ambassador to Israel signals much astir his imaginable argumentation towards nan US state successful his 2nd term, pinch galore expecting him to spell moreover further than existent President Joe Biden successful his support for Israel arsenic it wages warfare connected Gaza and Lebanon.

Biden has consistently refused to punish Israel for sidesplitting tens of thousands successful its wars, amid world calls for it to stop. However, he did reinstate a argumentation Trump rescinded that position Israeli settlements for illustration nan 1 Huckabee visited successful 2015 “illegitimate”.

Last week, days aft Trump was again elected president, Israel tapped Yechiel Leiter, a staunch protagonist of settlements successful nan West Bank, arsenic ambassador to nan US.

Trump this week besides appointed Congresswoman Elise Stefanik, different staunch protagonist of Israel who gained nationalist attraction during legislature hearings earlier this twelvemonth astir nan handling of pro-Palestinian protests astatine elite US universities, arsenic UN ambassador.

The incoming president’s furniture will person an moreover much pro-Isreal look to it if Trump picks Florida Senator Marco Rubio arsenic his caput of state, arsenic appears likely.

Rubio has had a hawkish stance connected Israel’s warfare connected Gaza, which has killed astatine slightest 43,665 people, telling an activistic successful 2023 that he did not support a ceasefire and that Hamas was “100 percent to blame” for nan deaths of Palestinians successful nan Gaza Strip.

He past supported Trump’s plan to deport foreign pro-Palestinian student demonstrators to get them to “behave”.

Israeli politicians are positioning themselves for a Trump presidency, pinch far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich saying connected Monday that he hoped nan president-elect would recognise nan forbidden annexation of Palestinian territory successful nan occupied West Bank.

In his first term, Trump went against longstanding argumentation and moved nan US embassy to Jerusalem, nan eastbound half of which is occupied Palestinian territory, and besides recognised nan forbidden annexation of nan occupied Golan Heights, which is Syrian territory.

However, Trump attracted immoderate support from Arab Americans aft he visited communities successful Michigan and promised to execute bid successful nan Middle East.

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Al Jazeera and news agencies