Huckabee In Israel: A Palestinian State Within Holy Land "Unrealistic"

JERUSALEM — The U.S. has taken too harsh a stance against Israel on the issue of settlements, hindering peace negotiations, former Arkansas governor and presidential hopeful Mike Huckabee said during a visit to Israel on Monday.

Huckabee, a Southern Baptist preacher popular among the Republican Party's social conservatives, has been touted as a possible Republican candidate in 2012.

His three-day trip, focusing on visits to settlements and meetings with settler leaders, puts him in direct opposition to President Barack Obama and positions him even to the right of Israel's own hawkish prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu.

Obama has been pushing Israel to freeze settlements. And Netanyahu has pledged to dismantle unauthorized settlement outposts such as one Huckabee plans to visit.

The Obama administration has specifically criticized Israeli building plans in east Jerusalem, where Israeli control has never been internationally recognized and which the Palestinians want for the capital of a future state.

"It concerns me when there are some in the United States who would want to tell Israel that it cannot allow people to live in their own country, wherever they want," Huckabee said in east Jerusalem.

He said the Obama administration's emphasis on the settlement issue sets a condition that unnecessarily impedes peace talks.

Later Monday, Huckabee is slated to attend a dinner at the Shepherd Hotel, the site of a controversial planned housing project in east Jerusalem. The Obama administration has called for Israel to suspend the project, which is funded by American millionaire Irving Moskowitz. Israel rejected the demand, saying east Jerusalem is part of Israel's capital.

Anti-settlement protesters plan to hold a demonstration outside the dinner, and the Israeli group Ir Amim, which promotes Jewish-Arab coexistence in Jerusalem, condemned Huckabee's visit to the hotel.

The group said in a statement that Huckabee "is seeking to regain his standing in the American political system by befriending extremists among settler organizations in Israel."

The U.S. administration is pressing Israel to stop building settlements on lands the Palestinians claim for a future state, including east Jerusalem, which was captured and annexed by Israel in 1967.

Israel insists some settlement construction must continue to accommodate the expanding settler population, and the issue has morphed into an unusually public dispute between the two traditionally close allies. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has refused to hold peace talks with Israel until a settlement freeze is implemented.

The number of Israeli settlers in the West Bank – home to some 2.5 million Palestinians – has more than doubled since the mid-1990s and now tops 300,000. Another 180,000 Israelis live in Jewish neighborhoods built in east Jerusalem.

Comments

[shmuli]

if jerusalem is islam's third holiest site, where does medina rank on the holiest list for judaism? given that medina was founded by jews, it should rank at least in judaism's top 20! when haj amin al husseini invented in 1929 that mahmoud ascended to heaven from judaism's holiest site, no muslim gave him credence. only non-muslims engage in this idiotic banter. jerusalem not only is not the 3rd holiest sit in islam (not even the top 10 by any stretch) it is not even considered holy to islam. no moslem head of state ever visited the dome of the rock between 1948 and 1967 when jordan controlled this site.

[Tasies]

Let's calla duck a duck. Huckabee's religious views are causing him to practice a brand of sanctioned racism and extreme prejudice. The last thing on this man's mind is the value of a Palestinian.

There's no vacancies in The Bible Hotel for Palestinians. They're not even allowed through the back door, and in their own country, by foreigners nonetheless.

[hypnus]

After speaking about the Palestine’s in the Middle East, Huckabee had some harsh words for the Israeli’s. “You all ain’t got one good barbeque joint here. I can’t believe it. What does a man have to do to get a good barbeque pork sandwich around here, and no offense, but your sweet tea sucks.”

[who38]

When Huckabee returns, he should be given a mental status test at the request of his constituents. Would you want this man representing your interests in DC?

[Taxi]

How much did the Huck charge airpac per word spoken in defense of the ztolenlanders?

[Jan McGirk - Huffpost Blogger]

This point about the the gene pool of present day Palestinians including Jews is covered in "Spiders of Alla", a new book by Times of London correspondent, James Hider. It includes an account of Israeli DNA testing to locate the original Canaanites. See HuffPo review here: http://tiny.cc/CjPIy

[PWM]

The huckster still spouting his ignorance of the real world.

[who38]

Along with Biden. The McCain/Lieberman replacements?

[Imhotep40]

Pandering, plain and simple . . . . .

Does anyone know how much AIPAC contributed to Huckabee's campaign fund?

[notsogr8]

This is why you don't want religious folks making any policy decisions poisoned by their faith (i.e. belief in invisible friends that make you feel super cool about doing irrational things).

[who38]

Bless you, my son.

[Ithamer]

All US politicians are in the pocket of some special interest group.

[who38]

Another inconvenient truth.

[gzuss]

Let's give the Palestinians a choice for their new homeland..­.do you want Alabama or Oklahoma? You can keep the senators.

[who38]

Isn't Huckabee from Arkansas? Can't have Oklahoma; that was given to the NAs during that holocaust. North Dakota, Iowa, or Wyoming would be good.

[DrJulienArbor]

This is positively nonsense and these grown men remind me of a bunch of spoiled children. What happens after you kick the Palestinians out? Then you have two groups of people who each consider themselves the "Chosen Ones"... so then what? The two are left to fight over who's Numero Uno? Grow up already!

The answer is very simple... you either share your toys and play nice together or everybody gets a time out and the toy is taken away. You've already proven that a piece of real estate or a book doesn't make you any more spiritual.­.. or happy or healthy or peaceful either!

[Elkims]

When did Hugabee go cuck00?

[toxicbrainpoison]

And this is why republicans need to stay in the middle east.

[ThirdSection]

Everyone knows that Huckabee's just doing this so that East Jerusalem will be Israeli, so they can rebuild the temple, thereby kick-starting the apocalypse, so Huckabee can be raptured!

See? Everything has a rational explanation.

[who38]

There are a few of us who would volunteer to "rapture" Huck with no change in East Jerusalem. Hope that the "deal" provides him with a food taster throughout the rest of his life.