https://www.scmp.com/rss/521743/feed The latest news and top stories on Mike Huckabee, US Ambassador to Israel. A seasoned politician and diplomat, he assumed his current role in April 2025. He previously served as the 44th Governor of Arkansas from 1996 to 2007, implementing education and healthcare reforms. He also had a career as a Baptist minister and political commentator. As Ambassador, he strengthens US-Israel relations, advocates against antisemitism and promotes collaboration. He recently condemned an attack on the Church... en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com Reuters Reuters The United Arab Emirates’ foreign ministry denied on Wednesday a statement by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office that he visited the country and held a secret meeting with its president. The Israeli Prime Minister’s ‌Office said earlier he travelled to the UAE during the war with Iran and met Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed. A statement by the Emirati foreign ministry said that Emirati relations with Israel “are public” and “not based on non-transparent or unofficial... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3353479/israels-netanyahu-made-secret-visit-uae-during-iran-war?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3353479/israels-netanyahu-made-secret-visit-uae-during-iran-war?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 13 May 2026 18:30:55 +0000 Dewey Sim Dewey Sim Israel and Lebanon agreed on Thursday to extend their ceasefire by three weeks after a second round of negotiations between their envoys in Washington, despite reports of violations of the truce from both sides. US President Donald Trump announced the extension on social media, saying Washington “is going to work with Lebanon in order to protect itself from Hezbollah”. “The Ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon will be extended by THREE WEEKS,” he wrote, calling the meeting “very historic” and... https://www.scmp.com/news/us/diplomacy/article/3351217/trump-meet-lebanon-and-israel-envoys-beirut-seeks-truce-extension?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/us/diplomacy/article/3351217/trump-meet-lebanon-and-israel-envoys-beirut-seeks-truce-extension?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 23 Apr 2026 19:36:07 +0000 Alex Lo Alex Lo A suspected CIA-funded publication in Asia recently asked where all the Chinese wolf warriors have gone. It was referring to those supposedly rude envoys who harangued the governments of their host countries and foreign ministry spokespeople who confronted foreign reporters at news conferences. Well, Beijing reined them in long ago. But US President Donald Trump has unleashed his own. Open hostility towards host countries and their peoples seems to be a job requirement in Washington for a US... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3345151/under-trump-us-has-unleashed-its-own-wolf-warriors?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3345151/under-trump-us-has-unleashed-its-own-wolf-warriors?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 03 Mar 2026 21:30:08 +0000 Alex Lo Alex Lo A former senior US official has said working closely with allies and partners is the only effective way to constrain China. “Given the size and the immensity of the China challenge, the only way that the United States is going to be effective to meet that challenge is if we work with other partners and allies,” said Kurt Campbell, the former deputy secretary of state under Joe Biden. That is no doubt true, but good luck convincing them. When so many top officials within the US government up to... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/article/3344272/how-unhinged-washington-unleashes-american-craziness-world?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/article/3344272/how-unhinged-washington-unleashes-american-craziness-world?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 22 Feb 2026 13:30:09 +0000 Associated Press Associated Press Arab and Muslim nations on Saturday sharply condemned comments by the US ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee, who said Israel has a right to much of the Middle East. Huckabee made the comments in an interview with conservative commentator Tucker Carlson that aired on Friday. Carlson said that according to the Bible, the descendants of Abraham would receive land that today would include essentially the entire Middle East, and asked Huckabee if Israel had a right to that land. Huckabee responded:... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3344233/us-ambassador-says-israel-has-right-much-middle-east-sparking-uproar?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3344233/us-ambassador-says-israel-has-right-much-middle-east-sparking-uproar?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 21 Feb 2026 21:46:10 +0000 Letters Letters Feel strongly about these letters, or any other aspects of the news? Share your views by emailing us your Letter to the Editor at letters@scmp.com or filling in this Google form. Submissions should not exceed 400 words US President Donald Trump has brokered a 20-point Gaza peace plan between Israel and Hamas. Stopping the bombing and securing the release of hostages are significant accomplishments so far. However, from a Palestinian perspective, the central question remains: will this be a just... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/letters/article/3328777/no-lasting-israel-gaza-peace-without-palestinian-rights?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/letters/article/3328777/no-lasting-israel-gaza-peace-without-palestinian-rights?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 14 Oct 2025 03:30:11 +0000 dpa dpa The US ambassador to Israel has called UK Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson “delusional” for claiming the UK played a “key role” in securing the ceasefire in Gaza. The minister earlier on Sunday defended Britain’s contribution to peace efforts “behind the scenes” while acknowledging the “critical” work had been carried out by the White House. Mike Huckabee, who was part of US President Donald Trump’s negotiating team for the peace deal, appeared to mock Phillipson’s assertion in a post on... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3328734/us-envoy-calls-uk-minister-delusional-claim-key-role-gaza-ceasefire-deal?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3328734/us-envoy-calls-uk-minister-delusional-claim-key-role-gaza-ceasefire-deal?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 12 Oct 2025 23:36:52 +0000 Reuters Reuters If Israel did not kill Hamas leaders in an air strike on Qatar on Tuesday, it would succeed next time, the Israeli ambassador to the United States said after the operation, raising concerns it would torpedo efforts to secure a ceasefire in Gaza. “Right now, we may be subject to a little bit of criticism. They’ll get over it. And Israel is being changed for the better,” Yechiel Leiter told Fox News’ Special Report programme late on Tuesday. Israel attempted to kill the political leaders of Hamas... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3325086/israel-will-keep-hunting-down-hamas-leaders-despite-anger-over-qatar-strike-ambassador?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3325086/israel-will-keep-hunting-down-hamas-leaders-despite-anger-over-qatar-strike-ambassador?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 10 Sep 2025 13:28:08 +0000 Associated Press Associated Press Israel’s far-right finance minister said on Thursday that a contentious new settlement construction in the Israeli-occupied West Bank is going ahead – a project that Palestinians and rights groups worry will scuttle plans for a Palestinian state by effectively cutting the territory into two parts. Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich boasted that the construction, which is expected to get final approval later this month, could thwart Palestinian statehood plans. His announcement came as many... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3321923/israel-moves-ahead-plan-bisect-west-bank-wrecking-palestinian-state-hopes?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3321923/israel-moves-ahead-plan-bisect-west-bank-wrecking-palestinian-state-hopes?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 15 Aug 2025 01:38:38 +0000 Associated Press Associated Press Hospitals in Gaza reported the killing of more than a dozen people, eight of them food-seekers, by Israeli fire on Saturday as Palestinians endured severe risks in their search for food amid airdrops and restrictions on overland aid delivery. Near a Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) distribution site, Yahia Youssef, who had come to seek aid on Saturday morning, described a panicked scene now grimly familiar. After helping carry out three people wounded by gunshots, he said he looked around and... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3320550/israel-kills-another-18-gaza-8-them-searching-food-hospitals?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3320550/israel-kills-another-18-gaza-8-them-searching-food-hospitals?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 02 Aug 2025 11:44:33 +0000 Alex Lo Alex Lo The cynicism is breathtaking. Or maybe it’s just foolishness. With Taiwanese leader William Lai Ching-te and his minions at the Democratic Progressive Party, it’s often hard to tell. While Israel is busy committing genocide in Gaza, and Jewish settlers and the military are running rampant across the occupied West Bank, Taipei has pledged to donate to an Israeli settlement for a health project there. At least 964 Palestinians in the West Bank have been killed between the start of the Gaza war in... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/article/3319302/taiwan-donation-vow-israeli-settlement-cynical-and-foolish?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/article/3319302/taiwan-donation-vow-israeli-settlement-cynical-and-foolish?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 23 Jul 2025 13:00:20 +0000 Associated Press Associated Press Israeli troops opened fire on Saturday toward crowds of Palestinians seeking food from distribution hubs run by a US-and Israeli-backed group in southern Gaza, killing at least 32 people, according to witnesses and hospital officials. The shootings occurred near hubs operated by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), which launched operations in May. The US and Israel seek to replace the traditional UN-led aid distribution system in Gaza, asserting that Hamas militants siphon off supplies. The... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3318877/gaza-war-32-palestinians-killed-israeli-troops-open-fire-aid-seekers?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3318877/gaza-war-32-palestinians-killed-israeli-troops-open-fire-aid-seekers?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 19 Jul 2025 15:08:34 +0000