In a high-stakes interview that has exposed a deep rift within the American Republican coalition, US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee has told commentator Tucker Carlson that Israel possesses a "Biblical right" to claim a vast swathe of land spanning the modern Middle East.
During the sit-down at Ben Gurion Airport on Wednesday, Carlson pressed the ambassador on the geographic boundaries of land grants described in Genesis 15, which include the territory from the Nile to the Euphrates.
When asked if Israel would have the right to take over the entire region based on this "original deed," Huckabee responded: "It would be fine if they took it all."
That an area that would include entire Palestine, Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, and parts of Saudi Arabia and Iraq.
"Israel is a land that God gave, through Abraham, to a people that he chose," Huckabee said, describing the Jewish people's connection to the land as a combination of "a people, a place, and a purpose."
While he later claimed that the Israeli government is not currently seeking to expand to those ancient borders, affirmation of Huckabee, a Baptist minister and an avowed Zionist, of the theological claim has triggered immediate international condemnation and reignited debates over the influence of Christian Zionism on US foreign policy.
Carlson interview of the US envoy stemmed from prior public disputes between the two over Israel's policies, particularly regarding Christians and US foreign policy.
Carlson has been accusing Huckabee of prioritising Israeli interests over American ones.
Carlson has previously interviewed both a Palestinian Christian and a Jordanian Christian, focusing on their experiences of harmonious co-existence within Muslim-majority societies.
These discussions also addressed the oppressive policies enacted during the Israeli military occupation.
Israeli leaders’ Latvia or Poland roots
The interview, which aired on Friday, quickly devolved into a heated exchange regarding the universal application of national rights.
Carlson, who has grown increasingly critical of unconditional US support for Israel, questioned why Huckabee defends the indigenous rights of Eastern European Jews while appearing more hesitant to affirm the same rights for the Irish or for Palestinian Christians whose families have lived in the Levant for two millennia.
"How do we know that Bibi [Netanyahu's] ancestors ever lived here?" Carlson asked, pointing out that many Israeli leaders have roots in Latvia or Poland.
"There are a lot of people in the territory that Israel controls today... who through genetic testing, we can know their families have been here for thousands of years. They have less of a right to the land than someone whose ancestors lived in Latvia?"
Huckabee dismissed the genetic argument, insisting that the "biblical, historical, and ethnic" connection creates a "very strong case" that is validated by archaeology.
"The stones cry out," the ambassador said, referencing the City of David excavations as proof of a 3,800-year continuous link.
Gaza genocide numbers
The conversation turned sharply toward the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Gaza, where Israel has killed and wounded tens of thousands of Palestinians, wiped off all neighbourhoods and displaced almost entire 2.3 million residents in its genocide.
Huckabee falsely claimed that the Israel military have maintained a "lower proportion of civilians killed in urban warfare than in any urban conflict in modern history."
However, the ambassador struggled to provide concrete figures when pressed by Carlson.
After initially stating he did not know the exact death toll, Huckabee later suggested that if one accepted the Gaza Health Ministry's figures — which he estimated at roughly 60,000 — the ratio of militants to civilians killed would still be record-breaking for its "humanity."
"You just said they did a better job than the US military in Iraq and Afghanistan," Carlson countered.
"On what basis are you making the claim that the Israeli Army in Gaza spared more civilians than the US Army and Marine Corps?" Huckabee admitted he did not have the exact numbers on hand but maintained his position based on "conversations with people who fought there."
Huckabee defends Israel’s killing of children
Experts suggest the Gaza death toll of over 70,000 may be an undercount.
According to a new study published in The Lancet Global Health, more than 75,000 Palestinians were killed in the first 15 months of Israel's genocide in Gaza, a figure significantly higher than the 49,000 deaths announced at the time by local health officials.
The peer-reviewed research has found that women, children and the elderly accounted for 56.2 percent of violent deaths during that period, a proportion it said broadly aligns with reporting by Gaza's health ministry.
The study, conducted by the Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research and led by Michael Spagat of Royal Holloway, University of London, surveyed 2,000 Palestinian households over seven days beginning on December 30, 2024.
"The combined evidence suggests that, as of January 5, 2025, 3–4 percent of the population of Gaza had been killed violently and there have been a substantial number of non-violent deaths caused indirectly by the conflict," the authors wrote.
During the interview, Huckabee defended Israel’s killing of children in Gaza, including 14-year-olds, suggesting some may have been complicit.
"If they participated in that then God help them."
The US envoy justified killings if individuals "supported Hamas" or "fought Israel," even if they were minors, while Carlson expressed bafflement and stated he would "never murder children."
" If these were your children being held hostage in Gaza, what would you do to get them out?" Huckabee asked Carlson, who replied, "I would not kill children, period. And I wouldn’t make excuses for killing children either."
