Trump picks former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee as US ambassador to Israel

President-elect Donald Trump said he plans to nominate former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee as U.S. ambassador to Israel, a top diplomatic post in a turbulent region.

If confirmed, Huckabee would be the first non-Jewish person to hold the role since 2011. He will arrive in Jerusalem to confront the conflicts in Gaza and Lebanon that have been going on for more than a year. During the campaign, Trump, a close ally of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, vowed to end the conflict.

Peace negotiations between Israel and Hamas have stalled in recent days after Qatar suspended its mediation efforts. Huckabee is likely to be at the center of international pressure on the United States to help negotiate a ceasefire agreement.

Trump made the announcement Tuesday in a Truth Social post highlighting a longtime loyalist and former rival for the Republican nomination in 2016. Huckabee, the host of a television talk show of the same name, campaigned for Trump this cycle and went toe-to-toe with the former president, including in battleground Pennsylvania in the closing stages of the race.

“I am pleased to announce that highly respected former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee has been named U.S. Ambassador to Israel,” Trump said in a statement.

“Mike has been a great public servant, governor and faith leader for many years. He loves Israel and the people of Israel, and the people of Israel love him in the same way. Mike will work tirelessly to bring peace to the Middle East!”

In a statement congratulating Huckabee, the Republican Jewish Coalition praised the former governor as a “longtime friend” of the group, praised the former governor's “great love for Israel” and promised that his appointment would “strengthen the U.S.-Israel relationship even further.” “. greater heights.”

Huckabee's daughter, current Arkansas governor and former Trump administration official Sarah Huckabee Sanders, was also a top Trump surrogate.

During his 2016 presidential bid, Huckabee took an ultra-conservative position on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and rejected the idea of ​​an “occupied” West Bank. Instead, he referred to the area using the biblical terms “Judea and Samaria.”

At that time, he received the Adelson Defender of Israel Award at a Zionist Organization of America dinner in New York. Miriam Adelson, the wife of the late Sheldon Adelson, remains a top donor to Trump, having donated generously to his 2024 campaign.

The war in Gaza has been raging since Hamas militants launched a deadly attack on Israel on October 7, 2023. The Hamas attack killed 1,200 people and took over 250 people hostage, including American citizens. According to Gaza health authorities, over 40,000 people have been killed in Gaza since the war began.