In a televised interview aired Friday with journalist Tucker Carlson, Huckabee discussed longstanding claims associated with the "Greater Israel” concept. Asked whether he supported Israeli expansion from the Nile River to the Euphrates, Huckabee replied, "It would be fine if they took it all,” referencing what he described as biblical boundaries. He added that if Israel were attacked and "won that war” resulting in territorial gains, "that’s a whole other discussion.”

The governments of Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, the UAE, Qatar, Indonesia, Pakistan, Egypt, Türkiye, Syria, Palestine, Lebanon, Oman, and Bahrain, along with the Gulf Cooperation Council, Arab League, and Organization of Islamic Cooperation, condemned the remarks as "dangerous and provocative.” Their joint declaration asserted that the comments contradict the UN Charter, undermine regional sovereignty, and clash with Washington’s own stated policies on de-escalation and Gaza conflict resolution.

A senior diplomat from one of the signatory states, speaking on the record, said the comments "legitimize annexationist discourse at a moment when the region is already at a breaking point.”

The Hamas movement also issued a statement Saturday, calling Huckabee’s remarks a "blatant embodiment of colonialist mentality.”

Israel’s far-right governing bloc has periodically invoked the "Greater Israel” narrative, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich both making past references to expanded borders or population transfer proposals. Analysts say such rhetoric—while not formal government policy—intensifies fears of territorial redesign in violation of long-standing international consensus.

The joint Arab-Islamic statement reiterated that Israel holds no sovereignty over the occupied Palestinian territories, rejected any attempt to annex the West Bank, and reaffirmed support for a Palestinian state on the 1967 borders. Diplomats urged the U.S. administration to clarify its position in light of the ambassador’s remarks.