US President-elect Donald Trump nominates former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee as the new US ambassador to Israel. This was reported by agencies with reference to Trump’s statement.
12.11.2024 21:27
Photo: TASR/AP, Oded Balilty
In the archive image, Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee answers questions from journalists in Ephrata, USA. US President-elect Donald Trump announced on Tuesday that he will nominate former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee for the post of US ambassador to Israel.
Huckabee is a staunch supporter of Israel and also supports Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank, which most of the international community considers illegal. His nomination comes hand in hand with Trump declaring that, unlike President Joe Biden’s administration, he will align US foreign policy more closely with the interests of the Jewish state, the AP noted.
“Mike has been a great public servant, governor and spiritual leader for many years,” Trump said in a statement, citing Huckabee’s background as a Baptist pastor. “He loves Israel and the people of Israel, and the people of Israel also love him. Mike will work tirelessly to bring peace to the Middle East,” Trump said.
Israel is currently fighting two wars in the Middle East against Iranian-backed militant movements: the Palestinian Hamas in the Gaza Strip and the Shiite Hezbollah in Lebanon. The US designates both movements as terrorist organizations.
The 69-year-old Huckabee has organized paid trips to Israel for many years and often advertises them in conservative-oriented American media, AP pointed out. In the past, he unsuccessfully ran for the Republican presidential nomination twice, including in 2016, when Trump won both the primaries and the subsequent presidential election. He was the governor of Arkansas from 1996 to 2007.
His daughter Sarah Huckabee Sanders is the current governor of Arkansas. From 2017 to 2019, she served as Trump’s White House press secretary.
Axios: Blinken will not yet change the scope of military aid to Israel
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has decided not to change the scope of US military aid to Israel yet. Citing two unnamed government sources, the news portal Axios wrote this on Tuesday.
The unnamed US government officials also emphasized that the United States would like to see more activity from Israel in the coming days regarding the resolution of the humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip.
In a letter addressed to Israel dated October 13, the administration of the acting US President Joe Biden stated that this long-time ally of the US must take concrete steps within 30 days to improve the humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip, otherwise it is threatened with a reduction in military aid from the United States, it reminds Reuters.
Source: spravy.pravda.sk
