The US Senate has confirmed the nomination of former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee as US ambassador to Israel, Agence France-Presse reported, quoted by BTA.
Huckabee is close to Israeli circles, which are in favor of expanding Israeli settlement activities, and Trump chose him precisely for that.
“He will be a great ambassador to Israel and the Israelis are thrilled to have him there“, Trump said after Huckabee was confirmed by 53 votes “for“ against 46 votes “against“. One Democrat in the Senate also voted for Huckabee.
Mike Huckabee is a figure in the conservative Catholic right and is an opponent of LGBT rights. He was governor of Arkansas from 1996 to 2007 and ran twice for the Republican presidential nomination. Huckabee's daughter, Sarah Huckabee Sanders, was White House press secretary during Trump's first term before becoming governor of Arkansas.
In 2017, Huckabee said in an Israeli settlement that "The occupied West Bank does not exist. There is Judea and Samaria." He then declared that there is no Israeli occupation.
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar described Huckabee as a true friend of the Jewish state. Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich called the vote to confirm Huckabee "great news for the Israeli people."