According to a report by The Jerusalem Post on Tuesday, September 16, 2025, US Ambassador Mike Huckabee suggested that Washington would not oppose an Israeli decision to extend sovereignty over areas of the West Bank, saying the United States would respect such a move rather than impose conditions on Jerusalem.
Huckabee made the remarks in an interview with The Jerusalem Post during the publication’s Diplomatic Conference, which was held at the Friends of Zion Museum media center in Jerusalem. His comments came in response to a question on how the US would react if Israel proceeded with sovereignty legislation that many international observers characterize as annexation.
“We respect Israel as a sovereign nation. We are not going to tell Israel what it can and cannot do any more than we would expect Israel to tell us what we can and cannot do,” Huckabee stated. He emphasized that Israel has the authority to make its own policy decisions, even when they do not align with American preferences.
“Sometimes they may disagree with the United States. That is their right. They are a sovereign nation, and they have every basis to say we disagree. We respect our partner,” he added.
The ambassador also underlined the depth of the bilateral relationship between the two countries, describing it as built on trust and long-standing strategic cooperation. Huckabee argued that the US–Israel partnership goes beyond typical alliances, noting its singular level of mutual reliance and understanding.
“We have friends as the United States, and we do have allies, but I would say we only have one real partner,” Huckabee said, citing “levels of intelligence, military hardware and software, levels of cooperation and communication, the likes of which simply do not exist with any other country.”
His remarks highlighted the administration’s stance that while the US values Israel as a close partner. See, More, Here>>>>
it would ultimately defer to Israel’s sovereign decision-making on matters concerning its territory and security.
