(WASHINGTON) — President-elect Donald Trump announced Tuesday that he has nominated former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee to be the U.S. ambassador to Israel.
“Mike has been a great public servant, Governor, and Leader in Faith for many years,” Trump said in a statement. “He loves Israel, and the people of Israel, and likewise, the people of Israel love him. Mike will work tirelessly to bring about Peace in the Middle East!”
The role, which will need to be confirmed by the Senate, will be a key appointment as tensions remain high in the Middle East.
Trump has long touted in campaign speeches that he would work to bring peace to the region. The president-elect has argued for Israel to “finish the job” on Hamas, but he’s offered little guidance on what action he might take in the region.
“He loves Israel, and the people of Israel, and likewise, the people of Israel love him,” Trump said of Huckabee in the statement.
Huckabee, an evangelical Christian, is an outspoken supporter of the Israeli settlement movement.
“I think Israel has title deed to Judea and Samaria,” he said on a 2017 visit to Israel, according to CNN, using the biblical names for the West Bank.
“There are certain words I refuse to use. There is no such thing as a West Bank. It’s Judea and Samaria,” Huckabee said. “There’s no such thing as a settlement. They’re communities, they’re neighborhoods, they’re cities. There’s no such thing as an occupation.”
As a 2008 presidential candidate, Huckabee also said “there’s really no such thing as a Palestinian,” according to Buzzfeed, and has suggested that a Palestinian state could be constructed with land from Arab countries surrounding Israel.
Huckabee is the father of current Arkansas governor and former press secretary under Trump, Sarah Huckabee Sanders.
News of Huckabee’s selection comes as Trump’s new administration begins to take shape with a handful of picks either being shared by Trump or reported by ABC News.
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