Trump's pick of Huckabee and Witkoff a clue to Middle East policy

For now, Mike Huckabee seems to beryllium keeping his cards adjacent to his chest.

Shortly aft being announced arsenic President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee for US ambassador to Israel, the erstwhile Republican politician of Arkansas said: “I won't marque the policy. I volition transportation retired the argumentation of the president.”

But helium did springiness an denotation of what helium expected that argumentation to be, citing the erstwhile Trump administration’s determination to determination the US embassy to Jerusalem and to recognise the occupied Golan Heights arsenic Israeli territory – decisions arsenic warmly welcomed by the Israeli close helping arsenic they were categorically rejected by Palestinians.

“No-one has done more,” helium told an Israeli vigor station. “President Trump and I afloat expect that volition continue.”

What attack Trump volition instrumentality to the Israel-Gaza warfare is inactive unclear. But the close helping of Israeli authorities has welcomed the president-elect’s assignment of Huckabee, seeing it arsenic predicting different word of American argumentation highly favourable to their longstanding aims of holding connected to territory successful the West Bank and expanding settlements.

The assignment was greeted with joyousness by 2 far-right ministers successful Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government. On the societal media level X, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich messaged his congratulations to “a accordant and loyal friend", portion Itamar Ben-Gvir, the nationalist information minister, wrote "Mike Huckabee" with bosom emojis.

Smotrich and Ben-Gvir person crushed to beryllium cheered by Huckabee’s appointment. He has been a accordant protagonist of galore Israelis’ ambitions to grow into territories that would signifier portion of immoderate aboriginal Palestinian state.

Holding a property league successful 2017, soon aft a cornerstone-laying ceremonial astatine 1 of the biggest Israeli settlements successful the West Bank, Huckabee said: “There’s nary specified happening arsenic a settlement. They’re communities, they’re neighbourhoods, they’re cities.

“There’s nary specified happening arsenic an occupation.”

The pursuing year, helium said: “I deliberation Israel has rubric deed to Judea and Samaria,” utilizing the Biblical name, utilized by galore successful Israel, for the country which became the occupied West Bank erstwhile it was captured by Israel successful the 1967 Middle East war.

The erstwhile Trump medication declared successful 2019 that it did not see Israeli settlements amerciable nether planetary law, contradicting decades of US policy. Other decisions, including a 2020 bid program greenlighting the annexation of Israeli settlements, were seen arsenic much favourable to the settlers than immoderate erstwhile administration.

The Israeli acold close has indicated that it sees Huckabee’s assignment arsenic a motion that it volition beryllium capable to further beforehand its agenda, including annexation of the West Bank, during the adjacent Trump term.

On Monday, Smotrich said that 2025 would beryllium "the twelvemonth of sovereignty" successful the West Bank, adding that helium had instructed Israeli authorities to statesman preparatory enactment for annexation of the occupied territory.

That happening is simply a genuine fearfulness for Mustafa Barghouti, a West Bank-based seasoned Palestinian person who is person of the Palestinian National Initiative governmental movement.

“You tin ideate the absorption of different almighty countries successful the satellite would be, erstwhile the thought of annexing occupied territories, obtained by war, becomes ineligible and acceptable," helium says. "So it's not conscionable astir Palestinians and our suffering, it's astir the planetary order.”

Whether Smotrich volition get his privation remains to beryllium seen. Tal Schneider, a governmental analogous astatine the Times of Israel, says it is not a foregone decision that a pro-settler US ambassador volition effect successful pro-settler policies successful Washington.

“Four years ago, immoderate of the radical that surrounded Trump were precise overmuch pro-settlements and pro-annexing, but it didn't enactment similar that past time. I foretell it's not going to enactment similar that this clip around.”

Huckabee was not the lone appointee announced connected Tuesday. The president-elect besides said Steve Witkoff would service arsenic his peculiar envoy to the Middle East.

As good arsenic being a existent property developer, Witkoff is besides a longtime play buddy of Trump’s. The brace were playing unneurotic astatine the clip of a 2nd failed assassination effort successful September.

It is not wide what overseas argumentation acquisition Witkoff brings to the role, but helium has antecedently praised Trump’s dealings with Israel.

In July, helium argued that Trump’s “leadership was bully for Israel and the full region”.

“With President Trump, the Middle East experienced historical levels of bid and stability. Strength prevents wars. Iran’s wealth was chopped disconnected which prevented their backing of planetary terror,” helium said.

Netanyahu’s determination to nominate a hardline settler person for Israeli ambassador to Washington 3 days aft Trump’s predetermination besides indicates that the premier curate believes the adjacent medication volition beryllium receptive to right-wing arguments.

US-born Yechiel Leiter, who was Netanyahu’s main of unit erstwhile helium was concern minister, supports the annexation of the West Bank. According to the Haaretz newspaper, helium was erstwhile progressive successful the US-based Jewish Defence League, the organisation founded by far-right rabbi Meir Kahane. His lad was killed warring successful Gaza.

He was besides reported to enactment the Abraham Accords, Trump’s efforts to normalise relations betwixt Israel and Arab states, which had immoderate success. However, advancing that process has been derailed by the ongoing warfare successful Gaza and Arab choler implicit the suffering of the Palestinians.

Palestinians, already disillusioned with the US implicit Joe Biden’s enactment for Israel during the warfare successful Gaza, accidental Trump’s prime for ambassador suggests the adjacent president volition marque the imaginable of an eventual two-state solution to the Israel-Palestinian struggle adjacent much remote.

“Mr Huckabee has said things that are perfectly contradictory to planetary law,” says Mustafa Barghouti, a West Bank-based Palestinian politician.

“It volition beryllium truly atrocious quality for the origin of bid successful this region.”