Mike Huckabee, announced Tuesday as the incoming Trump administration's designated US Ambassador to Israel, spoke to Israel's Army Radio in a short interview Wednesday morning.
He issued some surprisingly bold statements, amid controversy from some corners of US Congress who are alarmed at the choice, given he has long been among the most staunch and hardline supporters of Israel. He spelled out that he is on board with a complete Israeli annexation of the occupied West Bank, if that's what Trump policy leaders decide.
"I'm kind of in shock. It's been an unusual and wonderful day all at the same time. And I'm just incredibly honored that the president would ask me to serve in this capacity," Huckabee said at the start of the interview.
The Israeli Army show host probed and pressed him on what might be the most forward-looking changes that President-elect Donald Trump might bring to US-Israel relations.
Currently, there are a handful of hardline Israeli ministers who have gone so far as to call for declaring the West Bank as Israeli sovereign territory.
Among the most outspoken are Finance Minister Betzalel Smotrich and National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir. Smotrich recently declared that "now is the time" to declare Israeli sovereignty over Palestinian territories, especially the West Bank.
Huckabee in the Wednesday morning interview, which appears to be his first since being tapped as Israeli ambassador, began with "I have been, as you know, a frequent visitor to Judea and Samaria." His reference was to what is internationally known as the West Bank. Israel chooses to use the ancient biblical names of Judea and Samaria.
"I also very much believe that the people of Israel deserve a secure and safe country, and anything I can do that will help accommodate that is going to be a great privilege for me," he added.
But that's when Army Radio's Yanir Kozin - sensing that Huckabee was choosing his words and response very carefully, again pressed Huckabee. The former Arkansas governor was asked what his true opinion on the matter of Israel taking over the West Bank, and he responded as follows:
"Well, of course. And you know, I won't make the policy. I will carry out the policy of the president. But he has already demonstrated in his first term that there's never been an American president that has been more helpful in securing, uh, an understanding of the sovereignty of Israel from the moving of the embassy, recognition of the Golan Heights and Jerusalem as the capital. No one has done more than President Trump. And I fully expect that will continue," said Huckabee.
As for the question of recognition of any future settlements in the Gaza Strip, where the army is in the midst of a more than year-long anti-Hamas operation, Huckabee explained, "Well, I haven't had time to process that...As I say, today has been a pretty intense day of just fielding hundreds, literally hundreds of calls, emails, text messages."
He continued, "So, you know, I don't want to make any comments about policy because those won't be mine to make. That'll be the president's. And it will be my job to carry out the policy that he prescribes."
Interestingly and controversially, some Israeli officials have hinted at Tel Aviv’s potential pursuit of a 'Greater Israel' project - something which has been talked about openly since the 1980s. American neocon policy officials have also talked about this possibility since the 1990s.
A French language documentary recently got Smotrich on record as strongly suggesting he would like to eventually see Israel's border expand to Damascus:
Smotrich stated that "it is written that the future of Jerusalem is to expand to Damascus," adding ominously "only Jerusalem, until Damascus."
Such rhetoric from top-ranking Israeli officials is sure to only perpetuate the war. Israel is not only at war in Gaza, but is conducting a ground and aerial offensive in southern Lebanon, with strikes extending even into the north and central of the country, with heavy strikes on Beirut. The last week has also witnessed at least four significant air raids of Syria as well, mostly focused on the Damascus suburbs, where Israel says Iran's military has a presence.
