Fourteen Arab and Islamic countries, joined by the secretariats of the Gulf Cooperation Council, the League of Arab States, and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, issued a joint condemnation Saturday after remarks by the U.S. ambassador to Israel were circulated online suggesting it would be acceptable for Israel to exercise control over territory belonging to Arab states, including the occupied West Bank.
The countries said the comments, aired in an interview shared by Tucker Carlson, were “dangerous and inflammatory” and amounted to a flagrant violation of international law and the U.N. Charter. They warned the rhetoric threatens regional security and stability and risks inflaming tensions rather than advancing peace.
In their joint statement that was released in Doha, the nations declared that the comments made by the ambassador are “in direct contradiction to the declared vision of President Trump and a ‘Comprehensive Plan to End the Gaza Conflict,’ which was based on containing escalation and creating a political horizon to achieve a settlement of the conflict.”
The countries further said that “any attempt to legitimize control of the lands of others undermines the achievement of the declared vision of ending the conflict in accordance with the above plan and constitutes incitement.”
The signatory list of the joint statement comprises Qatar, Egypt, Jordan, the United Arab Emirates, Indonesia, Pakistan, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Oman, Bahrain, Lebanon, Syria, and the State of Palestine, as per the Qatar Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The signatory states reiterated that Israel had no sovereignty over occupied Palestinian territories or other occupied Arab lands. They rejected any attempt at annexing the West Bank, separating it from Gaza, and settlement expansion, supporting the establishment of a Palestinian state along the lines of the 4th of June 1967.
The conflict stems from remarks made by Mike Huckabee, who currently serves as the U.S. ambassador to Israel. During an interview with Tucker Carlson that went viral on social media platforms. In the interview, he suggested that expanded Israeli control over territories in the region could be acceptable. The remarks drew swift reaction from Arab and Islamic governments.
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