- Foreign ministers, OIC and LAS reject Mike Huckabee statement
- Joint statement warns against Israeli expansion in West Asia
Islamabad/Internet/Hyderabad, Feb 22: Pakistan on Sunday joined 13 other nations in condemning US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee’s remarks in which he agreed to the Biblical notion regarding Israel’s right to control mainland Arab regions.
Huckabee made the comments in an interview with former Fox News host Tucker Carlson on Friday. Carlson noted that the biblical verse included Israel’s region between the Euphrates River in Iraq and the Nile in Egypt. In response to the suggestion, Huckabee said, “It would be fine if they (Israel) took it all.”
Meanwhile, Pakistan’s Foreign Office issued a statement highlighting a joint position taken by several countries. The foreign ministers of Pakistan, Egypt, Jordan, UAE, Indonesia, Turkiye, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, Oman, Bahrain, Lebanon, Syria, and Palestine, along with the secretariats of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, the League of Arab States, and the Gulf Cooperation Council, “express their strong condemnation and profound concern” regarding Huckabee’s statement.
The foreign ministers “affirm their countries’ categorical rejection of such dangerous and inflammatory remarks which constitute a flagrant violation of the principles of international law and the Charter of the United Nations, and pose a grave threat to the security and stability of the region”, the statement said.
The joint statement also said that these remarks directly contradict the vision put forward by US President Donald Trump, as well as the comprehensive plan to end the Gaza conflict. It noted that the plan is based on containing escalation and creating a political horizon for a comprehensive settlement that ensures the Palestinian people have their own independent state.
The ministers added that the plan promotes tolerance and peaceful coexistence. However, they said remarks seeking to legitimize control over the lands of others undermine these objectives and fuel tensions.
They reaffirmed that “Israel has no sovereignty whatsoever over the Occupied Palestinian Territory or any other occupied Arab lands”. They also reiterated their firm rejection of any attempts to annex the West Bank or separate it from the Gaza strip.
Furthermore, they warned that the continuation of “Israel’s expansionist policies and unlawful measures will only inflame violence and conflict in the region”. The ministers underscored their commitment to the “inalienable right of the Palestinian people to self-determination” and to the “establishment of their independent state along the lines of June 4, 1967, and the end of the occupation of all Arab lands”.
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