The remarks made by the US ambassador to Israel sparked widespread controversy during an interview in which he stated that it was acceptable for Israel to control the entire Middle East, including the West Bank, Jordan, and parts of Egypt, Syria, Iraq, and Lebanon. Jordan and other Arab states rejected these statements. Jordan condemned them in an official statement, describing them as absurd and provocative, a violation of diplomatic norms, an infringement on the sovereignty of the region’s countries, and a blatant breach of international law and the UN Charter.

Jordan, through its Ministry of Foreign Affairs, affirmed that the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and the Gaza Strip are occupied Palestinian territories under international law. It stressed that ending the occupation and establishing an independent Palestinian state based on the two-state solution is the only way to achieve a just and comprehensive peace. It called for intensified efforts to consolidate stability instead of issuing inflammatory statements that do not serve security and peace in the region.

In Palestine, the Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs condemned the statements made by the US ambassador to Israel, in which he claimed that Israel has a “biblical right” to control the Middle East. The Ministry asserted that these statements contradict historical facts and international law, and constitute an incitement to aggression against the sovereignty of states and support for policies of occupation and annexation. It emphasized that the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and the Gaza Strip are occupied Palestinian territories under international law, calling on the US administration to clarify its position, adhere to the principles of peace, and reject any attempts to annex Palestinian lands.

Rev. Dr. Jack Sara, President of Bethlehem Bible College, told Milhilard.org : “When the Bible is used to justify political isolationism, it distorts the Church’s witness and deepens wounds instead of healing them.”

He continued, “Tucker Carlson’s recent interviews with Ambassador Mike Huckabee and Fares Abu Farha were very revealing, not only politically but theologically as well. What was most striking was the contrast between the two theological perspectives.

He said, “Ambassador Huckabee’s statements reflected a narrow theological framework that seems to equate biblical promise with contemporary political alliances. This framework often reduces the richness of the Gospel to a selective reading of the Bible, where one ethnic group becomes the focus of God’s salvific concern. This approach risks marginalizing the essence of the Gospel: that the purposes of God’s covenant in Christ are fulfilled and extend to all nations. In contrast, Fares Abu Farha demonstrated a generous Christian theology that affirms love for the Jewish people while simultaneously affirming the dignity, calling, and humanity of the Palestinians and granting them their due right to justice. His position reflected the biblical vision of reconciliation: a Gospel that does not erase identity but reshapes it.” He does not favor one race over another, but rather tears down the walls of division (Ephesians 2:14).

According to Dr. Sarah, the tragedy of superficial theology is not merely intellectual; it has dire consequences. When the Bible is used to justify political isolationism, it distorts the Church’s witness and deepens wounds instead of healing them. The gospel of Jesus Christ is not tribal, nor nationalistic, nor selective in its mercy.

He concluded his remarks to Salt of the Earth by saying, “As Palestinian evangelicals, our calling has always been to proclaim the crucified and risen Christ for Jews, Palestinians, and all nations. True fidelity to the Bible requires truth and love, justice and mercy, certainty and humility. It is sad that theology has become reductionist, but it is encouraging to hear voices like Fares Abu Farha’s reminding us that the evangelical faith from the Holy Land is rooted in the cross, not in political power.”

Dr. Hanna Katnasho, Dean of the Galilee Bible College, described to Salt of the Earth the slogans and claims that have been expressed The US ambassador described it as “superficial and unacceptable,” and Katanasho referred to his 2013 book, The Land of Christ: A Palestinian Cry, in which Hanna Katanasho, academic dean at Galilee Bible College, asks: (1) What are the boundaries of the land? (2) Who is Israel? (3) How did God give the land to Israel? Through a meticulous interpretation of the Bible, the book answers these questions, exposing the superficiality of many slogans and claims.

Katanasho presents an alternative theology of the land from a biblical perspective, closely linked to the context in Israel/Palestine. The Jerusalemite Palestinian theologian also indicates that the Kairos Palestine document is the most acceptable representation of the current Palestinian context and its theology.

. Fares Abraham commented on X on what US Ambassador Huckabee had said, claiming that in Palestinian schools, we are taught from age five that “the greatest thing is to kill.”

Mr. Ambassador, I was one of those five-year-olds. Your demonization of Palestinians is a fictionalized hallucination that failed to teach me, and millions of other Palestinian youth, the hate you claim is our heritage. Obviously, that education system prepped me well to excel in the U.S. and become a contributing, proud American citizen. I am not claiming Palestinians are perfect. We have experienced numerous internal failures and a pressing need for significant reforms.

But to cast an entire population, including Christians, as potential suicide bombers when asked if we can visit our own churches in Jerusalem is a level of political and unethical recklessness I never expected from a Christian Ambassador. Are you truly willing to continue confining 5.5 million people forever, including your own brothers and sisters in Christ, for the sins committed by a few? Even when you fail the Christians of Palestine, God will remain their vindicator, no matter how many walls and checkpoints you and your friends continue to build.