Mike Huckabee, nominee for US ambassador to Israel, speaks before his Senate Foreign Relations Committee confirmation hearing in Washington. Getty Images / AFP
Mike Huckabee, nominee for US ambassador to Israel, speaks before his Senate Foreign Relations Committee confirmation hearing in Washington. Getty Images / AFP
Mike Huckabee, nominee for US ambassador to Israel, speaks before his Senate Foreign Relations Committee confirmation hearing in Washington. Getty Images / AFP
Mike Huckabee, President Donald Trump's nominee for US ambassador to Israel, on Tuesday skirted tough questions on his personal position on Palestinian rights, the annexation of the West Bank and mass displacement from Gaza during his Senate confirmation hearing.
His often repeated response was that it was not his own policies that would be implemented in the Middle East but those of the President. The former governor of Arkansas is an outspoken proponent of Israel and has been described as a Christian Zionist.
Asked whether he had previously supported Israeli occupation of the West Bank, Mr Huckabee confirmed he had, but said “it would not be my prerogative to make that the policy of the President”.
“I believe that there always has to be the law being followed and there has to be clarity,” he said, when questioned over whether Israeli settlers displacing Palestinians from their homes was wrong. “If we're talking about stealing the land, taking it away from them, their land, yeah, that's a problem. If you're talking about purchasing the land, that's a legitimate transaction.”
An armed Israeli settler argues with members of a Palestinian family whose home in the city of Hebron was taken over by settlers. AFP
Mr Huckabee was interrupted several times by protesters. During one disruption, a demonstrator blew a shofar – an ancient horn used for Jewish ritual purposes – and shouted, “I am a proud American Jew” and “let Palestinians live”. Later, a protester shouted that Mr Huckabee was misusing Christianity to justify ethnic cleansing, then another yelled that Israel and the US have “desecrated the holy land”.
Mr Huckabee made frequent biblical references during his appearance before the committee, saying the US has a “spiritual” association with Israel.
“The spiritual connections between … many churches in America, Jewish congregations, to the state of Israel, is because we ultimately are people of the book. We believe the Bible and therefore that connection is not geopolitical. It is also spiritual.”
While Mr Huckabee received a series of easy-to-answer questions from Republicans on the committee, Democrats pressed him on other issues, including Mr Trump's proposal for a US takeover of Gaza.
Mr Trump had originally said the project – whose stated goal would be Gaza's transformation into the “Riviera of the Middle East” – would require the displacement of the enclave's two million-plus residents, but in a later U-turn said “nobody will expel Palestinians”.
Mr Huckabee denied Mr Trump would forcefully displace Palestinians. “That has not been his statement nor his policy, but rather to make sure that there is a safe and secure place for people to live during the process of cleaning out what is a disastrous mess,” he said “There shouldn't be forced displacement unless it's for their own security.”
He added that “Hamas will have no future in Gaza – it can't”.
Long publicly opposed to a two-state solution, Mr Huckabee sidestepped direct questions on the issue, predicating the possibility of a future Palestinian state on a “cultural shift” against anti-Semitism and an admission that Israel has a right to exist.
During his testimony, he also praised the Abraham Accords, which established diplomatic relations between Israel and the UAE and Bahrain, and later Sudan and Morocco. He said Mr Trump's “first term success” with the accords gives “real hope” for what might follow.
“The President is in an incredible position to build upon what he did in his first term, expanding the Abraham Accords to include not only the Saudis, but other Gulf state nations,” he told the hearing. “There's no reason that there's not a build upon the Abraham Accords. They were historic, significant in so many ways.”
He added that a common enemy in the Middle East is Iran. “I'm grateful to serve a president who recognises that Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon and that it is better to bankrupt them than it is to bomb them,” he said, referring to Mr Trump's maximum pressure campaign aimed at hamstringing Tehran's activities in the region through heavy sanctions.
Mr Huckabee's nomination still needs to be approved by the Foreign Relations Committee. If approved, it it will go to the full Senate for a vote.
Engine: Long-range single or dual motor with 200kW or 400kW battery
Power: 268bhp / 536bhp
Torque: 343Nm / 686Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Max touring range: 620km / 590km
Price: From Dh250,000 (estimated)
On sale: Later this year
Scoreline
Switzerland 5
The flights: South African Airways flies from Dubai International Airport with a stop in Johannesburg, with prices starting from around Dh4,000 return. Emirates can get you there with a stop in Lusaka from around Dh4,600 return. The details: Visas are available for 247 Zambian kwacha or US$20 (Dh73) per person on arrival at Livingstone Airport. Single entry into Victoria Falls for international visitors costs 371 kwacha or $30 (Dh110). Microlight flights are available through Batoka Sky, with 15-minute flights costing 2,265 kwacha (Dh680). Accommodation:The Royal Livingstone Victoria Falls Hotel by Anantara is an ideal place to stay, within walking distance of the falls and right on the Zambezi River. Rooms here start from 6,635 kwacha (Dh2,398) per night, including breakfast, taxes and Wi-Fi. Water arrivals cost from 587 kwacha (Dh212) per person.
UAE v Gibraltar
What: International friendly
When: 7pm kick off
Where: Rugby Park, Dubai Sports City
Admission: Free
Online: The match will be broadcast live on Dubai Exiles’ Facebook page
UAE squad: Lucas Waddington (Dubai Exiles), Gio Fourie (Exiles), Craig Nutt (Abu Dhabi Harlequins), Phil Brady (Harlequins), Daniel Perry (Dubai Hurricanes), EsekaiaDranibota (Harlequins), Matt Mills (Exiles), JaenBotes (Exiles), KristianStinson (Exiles), Murray Reason (Abu Dhabi Saracens), Dave Knight (Hurricanes), Ross Samson (Jebel Ali Dragons), DuRandt Gerber (Exiles), Saki Naisau (Dragons), Andrew Powell (Hurricanes), EmosiVacanau (Harlequins), NikoVolavola (Dragons), Matt Richards (Dragons), Luke Stevenson (Harlequins), Josh Ives (Dubai Sports City Eagles), Sean Stevens (Saracens), ThinusSteyn (Exiles)
Moustafa Rashid Nada (KSA) beat Imad Al Howayeck (LEB)
Split points decision
Welterweight
Gimbat Ismailov (RUS) beat Mohammed Al Khatib (JOR)
TKO round 1
Flyweight (women)
Lucie Bertaud (FRA) beat Kelig Pinson (BEL)
Unanimous points decision
Lightweight
Alexandru Chitoran (ROU) beat Regelo Enumerables Jr (PHI)
TKO round 1
Catchweight 100kg
Marc Vleiger (NED) beat Mohamed Ali (EGY)
Rear neck choke round 1
Featherweight
James Bishop (NZ) beat Mark Valerio (PHI)
TKO round 2
Welterweight
Abdelghani Saber (EGY) beat Gerson Carvalho (BRA)
TKO round 1
Middleweight
Bakhtiyar Abbasov (AZE) beat Igor Litoshik (BLR)
Unanimous points decision
Bantamweight
Fabio Mello (BRA) beat Mark Alcoba (PHI)
Unanimous points decision
Welterweight
Ahmed Labban (LEB) v Magomedsultan Magomedsultanov (RUS)
TKO round 1
Bantamweight
Trent Girdham (AUS) beat Jayson Margallo (PHI)
TKO round 3
Lightweight
Usman Nurmagomedov (RUS) beat Roman Golovinov (UKR)
TKO round 1
Middleweight
Tarek Suleiman (SYR) beat Steve Kennedy (AUS)
Submission round 2
Lightweight
Dan Moret (USA) v Anton Kuivanen (FIN)
TKO round 2
Will the pound fall to parity with the dollar?
The idea of pound parity now seems less far-fetched as the risk grows that Britain may split away from the European Union without a deal.
Rupert Harrison, a fund manager at BlackRock, sees the risk of it falling to trade level with the dollar on a no-deal Brexit. The view echoes Morgan Stanley’s recent forecast that the currency can plunge toward $1 (Dh3.67) on such an outcome. That isn’t the majority view yet – a Bloomberg survey this month estimated the pound will slide to $1.10 should the UK exit the bloc without an agreement.
New Prime Minister Boris Johnson has repeatedly said that Britain will leave the EU on the October 31 deadline with or without an agreement, fuelling concern the nation is headed for a disorderly departure and fanning pessimism toward the pound. Sterling has fallen more than 7 per cent in the past three months, the worst performance among major developed-market currencies.
“The pound is at a much lower level now but I still think a no-deal exit would lead to significant volatility and we could be testing parity on a really bad outcome,” said Mr Harrison, who manages more than $10 billion in assets at BlackRock. “We will see this game of chicken continue through August and that’s likely negative for sterling,” he said about the deadlocked Brexit talks.
The pound fell 0.8 per cent to $1.2033 on Friday, its weakest closing level since the 1980s, after a report on the second quarter showed the UK economy shrank for the first time in six years. The data means it is likely the Bank of England will cut interest rates, according to Mizuho Bank.
The BOE said in November that the currency could fall even below $1 in an analysis on possible worst-case Brexit scenarios. Options-based calculations showed around a 6.4 per cent chance of pound-dollar parity in the next one year, markedly higher than 0.2 per cent in early March when prospects of a no-deal outcome were seemingly off the table.
Bloomberg
England squad
Joe Root (captain), Alastair Cook, Keaton Jennings, Gary Ballance, Jonny Bairstow (wicketkeeper), Ben Stokes (vice-captain), Moeen Ali, Liam Dawson, Toby Roland-Jones, Stuart Broad, Mark Wood, James Anderson.
