The decision by the International Criminal Court to issue arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu and his former defense minister has been called “one of the most ridiculous and irrational things” by Mike Huckabee, who is President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee for ambassador to Israel. Huckabee expressed his frustration during an interview with Newsmax on Friday.
“I was outraged,” Huckabee, the former governor of Arkansas, shared on Newsmax’s Wake Up America. “The ICC is a joke, but it’s a bad joke, and the tragedy is, it’s not funny. It’s not funny because they are playing with absolute fire.”
The ICC alleges that Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant committed war crimes, including starvation, and crimes against humanity, such as murder, persecution, and other inhumane acts, in their actions against Hamas following the terror group’s assault on October 7, 2023.
“Let’s remember that 412 days ago, Hamas ran from Gaza into Israel and massacred—they didn’t just murder, they massacred Israeli civilians,” Huckabee said. “They did it with the intention not only of inflicting the most level of pain, but humiliation. And the result of that has been they still hold hostages, seven of whom are Americans.”
President Joe Biden criticized the ICC’s actions on Thursday, describing the warrants as “outrageous.”
Huckabee expressed appreciation for the administration’s stance. “The Biden administration was very clear in not trying to step back or in any way give any soft answer to this,” he said. “They were clear, and for that, I think we can all be grateful.”
During the interview, Huckabee also reflected on his nomination to serve as ambassador to Israel, describing the honor as “overwhelming.” If confirmed, he said, it would be “one of the most significant tasks that I will have ever had in my life, and an extreme honor.”
Huckabee shared that he has been traveling to Israel since 1973, when he was a teenager, and has developed deep ties in the region. “Some of the things that the president did in his first term, the Abraham Accords, and so many ways in which he was, I think, supportive of Israel, but not just verbally but demonstrably,” he said. “That’s what we need right now. It’s what Israel needs.”
Trump, according to Huckabee, recognizes Israel’s pivotal role in global affairs. “He understands that Israel is in some ways the centerpiece of the world,” Huckabee said. “It’s a tiny little sliver of real estate the size of New Jersey, but it’s the most contested piece of real estate on planet Earth.”
Huckabee praised Trump’s commitment to Israel’s sovereignty and security. “[Trump] also understands that it is the indigenous homeland of the Jewish people and has been for 3,500 years, and they have a right to exist with freedom and security, and no one has done more to help foster that and to really stand with that than President Trump has.”
In addition, Huckabee commented on Trump’s nomination of Pam Bondi, the former Florida Attorney General, as attorney general, following Matt Gaetz’s withdrawal from consideration.
“I’ve known Pam for many years,” Huckabee said. “We have a personal friendship. We both serve on the Kennedy Center Board and had been friends a long time before that. She’s great. I absolutely think it was a brilliant choice.”
Huckabee also praised Gaetz for stepping aside. “He made the right call by realizing he didn’t want to be a distraction,” Huckabee said. “Pam Bondi is going to be wonderful, and I think President Trump made a brilliant choice in selecting her.”
{Matzav.com}