Newly elected US President Donald Trump said he will nominate former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee as US ambassador to Israel, Reuters reports.
Huckabee is a staunch supporter of Israel and a defender of Israeli settlements in the West Bank, considered illegal by much of the international community.
“He loved Israel and the Israeli people, and in the same way the Israeli people loved him. Mike will work tirelessly to bring peace to the Middle East,” Trump said in a statement.
Huckabee, 69, criticized President Joe Biden for pressuring Israel to tone down its behavior during the Gaza war.
“If you are pro-Israel, how can you be pro-Biden, because the Biden administration has clearly stated that they will make concessions to (Palestinian militant group) Hamas,” Huckabee said in an interview with News Nation in March. Nation).
From 1996 to 2007, Huckabee was governor of the state of Arkansas. In 2008 and 2016, he participated in the Republican presidential nomination, but was unsuccessful.
His daughter, Sarah Huckabee Sanders, is the current governor of the state. From 2017 to 2019, he served as White House press secretary under the Trump administration, according to Reuters records.
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