He said that there is no such thing as Palestinians.. Who is Mike Huckabee, the new American ambassador to Israel?

US President-elect Donald Trump announced the appointment of former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee, a supporter of settlements, as US ambassador to Israel.

This controversial political figure and TV presenter who claims to have visited Israel more than 100 times will replace Jack Liu, who has held the position for a year, according to US media reports.

Who is Mike Huckabee?

Huckabee, a 69-year-old committed evangelical Christian, was born in the southern state of Arkansas in the United States.

He served as governor of his state from 1996 to 2007 before making failed attempts to become the Republican presidential nominee in the 2008 and 2016 primaries.

In between, he hosted his own talk show, “Huckabee,” which aired on Fox News between 2008 and 2015. In 2017, the program was revived to air on TBN, a Christian television network.

Since ending his presidential campaign in 2016, Huckabee has remained a consistent supporter of Trump.

Huckabee is a strong supporter of Israel

After his appointment, Trump issued a statement saying that Huckabee “loves Israel and its people, and the people in Israel love him. Mike will work tirelessly to bring peace to the Middle East!”

Experts see Huckabee’s appointment as reflecting a “very hawkish and pro-Israeli right-wing” approach by the Trump administration, according to Yossi Mekelberg, an Israel expert at Chatham House.

“There is no such thing as the West Bank,” Huckabee said in a 2017 interview with CNN. “It is Judea and Samaria (the biblical name for the area). There is no such thing as a settlement. It is communities, neighborhoods, and cities. There is no such thing as occupation.”

During his election campaign, he said: “I have to be careful saying this, because people will get really angry – there is no such thing as Palestinians.”

Huckabee opposes the two-state solution

Instead, he suggested in several television interviews that there is “plenty of land” for Palestinians in countries such as Jordan, Egypt and Syria.

He also criticized US President Joe Biden for asking Israel to control some of its actions in the war on Gaza and the administration’s calls for a ceasefire.

What was the reaction in Israel to his appointment?

The Israeli government, in its current form, would be happy to appoint an ambassador who supports settlements and annexation, experts say.

Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, the far-right, pro-settler security minister, celebrated Huckabee’s appointment via a platform

X posted emojis of the US and Israeli flags and a heart next to the name of the former Arkansas governor.

Dan Danon, Israel’s ambassador to the United Nations, congratulated Huckabee, saying: “I look forward to continuing to work with you and strengthening the eternal bond that unites our two countries!”

It is expected that during his term there will be no pressure from the Trump administration against the war plans of occupation Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.