RIYADH: Saudi Arabia has strongly condemned remarks made by the US ambassador to Israel suggesting that Israeli control over the entire Middle East would be acceptable, describing the comments as reckless and a violation of international law.

US envoy to Israel Mike Huckabee said it would be acceptable if Israel took control of the entire Middle East, including the West Bank, on Saturday.

Huckabee suggested that he would not object if Israel were to take most of the Middle East.

In a statement, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said it “categorically denounced” the comments, rejecting what it described as irresponsible statements that contravene international law, the United Nations Charter and established diplomatic norms.

The ministry said the remarks represented a dangerous precedent, particularly as they came from a US official, and amounted to a disregard for relations between the US and countries across the region.

It warned that such positions carry grave consequences and threaten global peace and security by inciting hostility toward the peoples and states of the Middle East, while undermining the foundations of the international order based on respect for sovereignty and internationally recognised borders.

Saudi Arabia called on the US State Department to clarify its position on the remarks, stressing that the proposal was rejected by peace-loving nations around the world.

The Kingdom reaffirmed its firm opposition to any actions or statements that infringe on the sovereignty, borders or territorial integrity of states, reiterating that a just and comprehensive peace can only be achieved by ending the occupation and implementing a two-state solution.

That solution, the statement said, must include the establishment of an independent Palestinian state along the 1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital.