[[{"content_id":414288,"content_number":0,"portal_id":2,"lang_id":"en","content_title":"Palestinian Church Affairs: \r\n\r\nHuckabee’s statement is deviant and represents Christian Zionism","content_rtitr":"","content_short_title":null,"content_summary":"The Higher Presidential Committee for Church Affairs in Palestine described justifying Israeli occupation policies through religious discourse as a “dangerous deviation,” warning against turning the political conflict into a “confrontation of a religious and doctrinal nature” that threatens international peace and stability.","content_summary_fill":1,"content_body":"The committee said in a statement on Sunday commenting on televised remarks by the US ambassador to Tel Aviv, Mike Huckabee, regarding the expansion of Israel’s occupation in the Middle East, that “justifying occupation policies or settlement expansion through religious discourse represents a serious moral and theological deviation.”\r\n\r\n \r\n\r\nThe committee condemned “in the strongest terms” Huckabee’s remarks in which he claimed the existence of what he called a “biblical right” for Israel to control the entire region extending “from the Nile to the Euphrates,” describing this as a “dangerous reliance on religious interpretations used to justify colonial and expansionist political projects.”\r\n\r\n \r\n\r\nIn an interview he conducted with American media figure Tucker Carlson, excerpts of which were published by the Tucker Carlson Network platform on Friday, Huckabee said he sees no problem with Israel seizing the entire Middle East, basing this on religious interpretations and claims of a “biblical right extending from the Nile River to the Euphrates.”\r\n\r\n \r\n\r\nThe committee added that Huckabee’s remarks contradict international efforts aimed at achieving a just and comprehensive peace based on ending the occupation, and on “respecting the rights of peoples and human dignity.”\r\n\r\n \r\n\r\nThe committee affirmed that this discourse not only conflicts with the rules of international law and the Charter of the United Nations, but also contradicts “the essence of the Christian message and the teachings of the Bible itself.”\r\n\r\n \r\n\r\nIt continued, “Religious texts are understood within their historical and theological context, and may not be employed to justify the exclusion of peoples or the confiscation of their national rights.”\r\n\r\n \r\n\r\nIt considered that the claim of what is called a “biblical right” constitutes “an abuse of religion and a distortion of its spiritual and moral message,” and reflects an extension of “politicized theological currents linked to what is known as Christian Zionism, which seeks to employ religious faith to serve political agendas at the expense of justice and human rights.”\r\n\r\n \r\n\r\nIt saw that such an approach “contributes to transforming the political conflict into a confrontation of a religious and doctrinal character, which constitutes a direct threat to civil peace and regional and international stability, and increases the risks of fueling religious extremism and undermining opportunities for peace.”\r\n\r\n \r\n\r\nIt warned that denying the rights of the Palestinian people “directly threatens the historic Palestinian Christian presence, undermines religious and cultural pluralism, and grants an ideological cover for occupation, annexation, and displacement policies that affect Muslims and Christians,” affirming that the fate of Palestine is determined in accordance with the rules of international law and the resolutions of international legitimacy.\r\n\r\n \r\n\r\nIt called on the US administration to “clarify its position explicitly regarding these remarks, in a manner consistent with the principles of international law and with the moral responsibility incumbent upon political and religious leaderships to avoid employing religion in political conflicts.”\r\n\r\n \r\n\r\nIt also renewed its call to churches and Christians around the world to “listen to the voice of Palestinian Christians, as sons of this land and living witnesses to its history and faith, and to reject any theology that employs religion to justify injustice or to entrench the reality of occupation.”\r\n\r\n \r\n\r\nHuckabee’s remarks fall within the context of Israeli expansionist claims, as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on 12 August 2025, during an interview with the Hebrew channel i24, that he is “strongly connected to the vision of Greater Israel,” in response to a question about his feeling that he is “on a mission on behalf of the Jewish people.”\r\n\r\n \r\n\r\nThis vision includes, according to Israeli claims, the occupied Palestinian territories and parts of Arab states, from the Euphrates River to the Nile River, a matter that sparked a wide wave of condemnation across the region.\r\n\r\n ","content_html":"

The committee said in a statement on Sunday commenting on televised remarks by the US ambassador to Tel Aviv, Mike Huckabee, regarding the expansion of Israel’s occupation in the Middle East, that “justifying occupation policies or settlement expansion through religious discourse represents a serious moral and theological deviation.”<\/span><\/p>\r\n\r\n

 <\/p>\r\n\r\n

The committee condemned “in the strongest terms” Huckabee’s remarks in which he claimed the existence of what he called a “biblical right” for Israel to control the entire region extending “from the Nile to the Euphrates,” describing this as a “dangerous reliance on religious interpretations used to justify colonial and expansionist political projects.”<\/span><\/p>\r\n\r\n

 <\/p>\r\n\r\n

In an interview he conducted with American media figure Tucker Carlson, excerpts of which were published by the Tucker Carlson Network platform on Friday, Huckabee said he sees no problem with Israel seizing the entire Middle East, basing this on religious interpretations and claims of a “biblical right extending from the Nile River to the Euphrates.”<\/span><\/p>\r\n\r\n

 <\/p>\r\n\r\n

The committee added that Huckabee’s remarks contradict international efforts aimed at achieving a just and comprehensive peace based on ending the occupation, and on “respecting the rights of peoples and human dignity.”<\/span><\/p>\r\n\r\n

 <\/p>\r\n\r\n

The committee affirmed that this discourse not only conflicts with the rules of international law and the Charter of the United Nations, but also contradicts “the essence of the Christian message and the teachings of the Bible itself.”<\/span><\/p>\r\n\r\n

 <\/p>\r\n\r\n

It continued, “Religious texts are understood within their historical and theological context, and may not be employed to justify the exclusion of peoples or the confiscation of their national rights.”<\/span><\/p>\r\n\r\n

 <\/p>\r\n\r\n

It considered that the claim of what is called a “biblical right” constitutes “an abuse of religion and a distortion of its spiritual and moral message,” and reflects an extension of “politicized theological currents linked to what is known as Christian Zionism, which seeks to employ religious faith to serve political agendas at the expense of justice and human rights.”<\/span><\/p>\r\n\r\n

 <\/p>\r\n\r\n

It saw that such an approach “contributes to transforming the political conflict into a confrontation of a religious and doctrinal character, which constitutes a direct threat to civil peace and regional and international stability, and increases the risks of fueling religious extremism and undermining opportunities for peace.”<\/span><\/p>\r\n\r\n

 <\/p>\r\n\r\n

It warned that denying the rights of the Palestinian people “directly threatens the historic Palestinian Christian presence, undermines religious and cultural pluralism, and grants an ideological cover for occupation, annexation, and displacement policies that affect Muslims and Christians,” affirming that the fate of Palestine is determined in accordance with the rules of international law and the resolutions of international legitimacy.<\/span><\/p>\r\n\r\n

 <\/p>\r\n\r\n

It called on the US administration to “clarify its position explicitly regarding these remarks, in a manner consistent with the principles of international law and with the moral responsibility incumbent upon political and religious leaderships to avoid employing religion in political conflicts.”<\/span><\/p>\r\n\r\n

 <\/p>\r\n\r\n

It also renewed its call to churches and Christians around the world to “listen to the voice of Palestinian Christians, as sons of this land and living witnesses to its history and faith, and to reject any theology that employs religion to justify injustice or to entrench the reality of occupation.”<\/span><\/p>\r\n\r\n

 <\/p>\r\n\r\n

Huckabee’s remarks fall within the context of Israeli expansionist claims, as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on 12 August 2025, during an interview with the Hebrew channel i24, that he is “strongly connected to the vision of Greater Israel,” in response to a question about his feeling that he is “on a mission on behalf of the Jewish people.”<\/span><\/p>\r\n\r\n

 <\/p>\r\n\r\n

This vision includes, according to Israeli claims, the occupied Palestinian territories and parts of Arab states, from the Euphrates River to the Nile River, a matter that sparked a wide wave of condemnation across the region.<\/span><\/p>\r\n\r\n

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