Washington , President-elect Donald Trump announced On Tuesday, they selected the former governor of Arkansas. mike huckabee To serve as US Ambassador to Israel.
“Mike has been a great public servant, governor and faith leader 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 peace to the Middle East!”
post required Senate approvalHowever, Huckabee is unlikely to face major obstacles to confirmation in the upper chamber, where Republicans are expected to have at least 52 seats in the next Congress.
Huckabee is one of the first picks announced by the president-elect as he begins building his Cabinet and other key positions. are among them Representative Elise Stefanik as US Ambassador to the United Nations and Representative Michael Waltz as National Security Advisor. Sources say he is expected to tap Florida Senator Marco Rubio For Secretary of State, however, the selection has not been finalized.
Huckabee served as Governor of Arkansas from 1996 to 2007 and ran unsuccessfully for the Republican presidential nomination in 2008 and 2016. After leaving office, he hosted a show on Fox News and a radio program. He is a staunch defender of Israel and Said He has visited the country more than 100 times over the course of 50 years.
During his first term, Trump is gone from the US Embassy from tel aviv to jerusalem During his first term, which President Biden retained.
If confirmed next year, Huckabee would take office amid Israel's war with Hamas and Hamas's holding of dozens of Israeli hostages, including four American citizens. Discussions about a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas have repeatedly stalled, and on Saturday, Hamas mediator Qatar announced that it had postponed his efforts And they will be resumed when “the parties show their willingness and seriousness to end the brutal war and the ongoing suffering of civilians.”
Bill Hagerty, a Republican senator from Tennessee, said in a Interview Appearing on “Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan” on Sunday, he believes “the atmosphere has completely changed” after Trump's victory over Vice President Kamala Harris last week.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he had spoken with Trump three times in recent days and described the conversations as “good and very important.” Israeli President Isaac Herzog met Mr Biden at the White House on Tuesday.
When Hamas launched its terrorist attacks on Israel on October 7, 2023, more than 1,200 civilians were killed and 250 were abducted. About 100 hostages are believed to still be in Gaza, although a third are believed dead. More than 43,000 Palestinians have been killed in Israel's attacks, according to the Hamas-run health ministry, although it is unclear how many are civilians and how many are terrorists.
Following the start of Israel's war with Hamas, Iran-allied Hezbollah began firing rockets, missiles and drones at Israel from Lebanon.