Mike Huckabee, US Ambassador to Israel: ‘Hamas isn't interested in ending the war’

Mike Huckabee, US Ambassador to Israel: ‘Hamas isn't interested in ending the war’

James Coomarasamy, presenter of the BBC’s Newshour and The World Tonight, speaks to Mike Huckabee, US Ambassador to Israel. Confirmed in the post two months ago, Mr Huckabee is the former Republican Governor of Arkansas and two-time Republican presidential nominee.

He’s an Evangelical Christian, who has backed the presence of Jewish settlements in the Palestinian territories, which are considered illegal under international law - although Israel rejects this.

Some opposition politicians in the US have been critical of his appointment and previous statements he’s made about the ongoing war in Gaza.

One Democratic senator said Huckabee was "woefully unfit" for the role and accused him of engaging in "brazen denial of the existence of the Palestinian people".

But during questioning by a US Senate committee, Huckabee played down some of his past statements, saying he would "carry out the president's priorities", not his, and denied backing the expulsion of Palestinians.

He takes up the role amid growing international calls for a ceasefire in Gaza and pressure for more humanitarian aid to reach the territory. Despite a number of proposals put forward by the international community, there does not yet appear to be a realistic prospect of an end to the conflict. The Interview brings you conversations with people shaping our world, from all over the world. The best interviews from the BBC. You can listen on the BBC World Service, Mondays and Wednesdays at 0700 GMT. Or you can listen to The Interview as a podcast, out twice a week on BBC Sounds, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Presenter: James Coomarasamy Producer: Ben Cooper Editor: Nick Holland

Get in touch with us on email TheInterview@bbc.co.uk and use the hashtag #TheInterviewBBC on social media.

(Image: Mike Huckabee. Credit: John Taggart/Bloomberg/Getty Images)

Avsnitt(1827)

Cheng Siwei - Former Vice Chairman, Standing Committee, NPC, China

Cheng Siwei - Former Vice Chairman, Standing Committee, NPC, China

This year - 2012 - is the Chinese Year of the Dragon and Chinese workers certainly seem to have fire in their belly.There's growing discontent amongst the workforce whose labour fuelled the country's economic miracle. They're angry that export-led growth has largely passed them by - whilst filling state coffers and enriching some beyond their wildest dreams. Zeinab Badawi speaks to Cheng Siwei - one of China's most influential economists. How much of a threat is economic uncertainty and social unrest to China's prosperity and stability?

13 Jan 201223min

Olli Rehn - European Commissioner for Economic and Monetary Affairs

Olli Rehn - European Commissioner for Economic and Monetary Affairs

Sarah Montague is in Brussels to talk to the man with the unenviable job of finding a way out of Europe's financial crisis. He is Olli Rehn, Europe's Commissioner for Economic and Monetary Affairs. It's nearly two years since the Greek crisis first blew up; and in that time seven heads of Eurozone governments have been replaced; there have been at least 15 European summits; and any number of plans; and yet, Greece is still on the verge of defaulting and the German Chancellor Angela Merkel has warned this coming year will "undoubtedly" be harder than the last. What has been achieved and are we any closer to resolving the crisis?(Image: European Union Economic and Monetary Affairs Commissioner Olli Rehn. Credit: Reuters)

11 Jan 201223min

Dr Devi Shetty - Indian heart surgeon

Dr Devi Shetty - Indian heart surgeon

Stephen Sackur speaks to a brilliant heart surgeon - veteran of more than 30,000 operations - but his growing international reputation rests less on his medical skill, more on his business brain. He wants to do for major surgery what Henry Ford did for the motor car - make it affordable for the masses, by means of mass production. He's building what he calls medical cities across India and beyond - but can this vision of delivering a public good for private profit really change healthcare around the world?

9 Jan 201223min

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