In a high-stakes interview that has exposed a deep rift within the American Republican coalition, US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee has told commentator Tucker Carlson that Israel possesses a “Biblical right” to claim a vast swathe of land spanning the modern Middle East.

During the sit-down at Ben Gurion Airport on Wednesday, Carlson pressed the ambassador on the geographic boundaries of land grants described in Genesis 15, which include the territory from the Nile to the Euphrates.

When asked if Israel would have the right to take over the entire region based on this “original deed,” Huckabee responded: “It would be fine if they took it all.”

That an area that would include entire Palestine, Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, and parts of Saudi Arabia and Iraq.

“Israel is a land that God gave, through Abraham, to a people that he chose,” Huckabee said, describing the Jewish people’s connection to the land as a combination of “a people, a place, and a purpose.”

While he later claimed that the Israeli government is not currently seeking to expand to those ancient borders, affirmation of Huckabee, a Baptist minister and an avowed Zionist, of the theological claim has triggered immediate international condemnation and reignited debates over the influence of Christian Zionism on US foreign policy.

Carlson interview of the US envoy stemmed from prior public disputes between the two over Israel’s policies, particularly regarding Christians and US foreign policy.

Carlson has been accusing Huckabee of prioritising Israeli interests over American ones.

Carlson has previously interviewed both a Palestinian Christian and a Jordanian Christian, focusing on their experiences of harmonious co-existence within Muslim-majority societies.

These discussions also addressed the oppressive policies enacted during the Israeli military occupation.