The press conference followed meetings with senior Israeli figures, including prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu, and followed his visit to the settlement of Shilo on the occupied West Bank where he held a private fundraiser with wealthy American settlers.
Advertisement
Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee is seeking funds and support in a community the U.S. and virtually every other country in the world condemns as an impediment to peace.
When the interviewer presented the current dispute about the Iranian nuke deal between the Netanyahu government and the Obama administration, Huckabee responded by saying: “Generally Americans are supportive of Israel and understand the relations we have”. It’s a place of biblical history…
The ex-governor of the southern state of Arkansas who has also hosted a Fox News channel programme said he considered the Palestinian territory part of Israel. Speaking to journalists in Jerusalem on Wednesday, Huckabee was unapologetic about his visit.
Today, during a press conference in Jerusalem, Huckabee said that the nuclear deal with Iran is not only risky for Israel but for the U.S. too.
He told reporters “if you’re going to visit Israel you should visit all of Israel, and that would include Judea and Samaria”, the biblical names for the West Bank.
“There’s nothing in any of the comments that I’ve made that I feel to be inaccurate or inflammatory”, he said.
“I see him usually when I come to Israel; its not uncommon that I’d do that, but this is of course the first time I’ve come as a declared candidate”, Huckabee explained.
Huckabee also said he would withdraw from the recent U.S.-led worldwide nuclear agreement with Iran, which offers the Islamic Republic relief from global sanctions in exchange for curbs on its nuclear program.
“I think it is very important that as Americans we show support for Israelis in their capacity to build their neighborhoods in their own country”. He also called on the U.S.to become a major energy exporter and take over Iran’s traditional oil markets.
Advertisement
“Since more than two-thirds of the American population oppose the Iranian agreement, it would seem that if they truly are working for the people and they listen to their bosses, they will go back and vote against this”.
