The West Bank has seen escalating violence since Oct. 7, with Israeli soldiers pursuing militants in residential areas and Jewish settlers mounting attacks on Palestinians in land grabs. Elizabeth Palmer looks at what President-elect Donald Trump's election victory and his selection of Mike Huckabee for U.

Just 22 percent support a single Israeli state in the entire land, as Huckabee does. Thus, though exceedingly unlikely to bring peace to the Middle East, Huckabee’s appointment has one salutary effect: It makes clear whom Trump’s Israel policy is meant to serve.

Ambassador-designate Mike Huckabee, like Friedman, is a supporter of the settlements and of Israel annexation. Unlike Friedman, he is an evangelical Christian — and is set to take office alongside far-right Israeli officials who are itching to annex the settlements to Israel. Israel’s incoming ambassador in Washington also supports the settlements.

President-elect Donald Trump announced Tuesday that he has nominated former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee to serve as United States ambassador to Israel.

There’s really no such thing as a Palestinian,” Mike Huckabee said in 2008, and he has insisted over the years on referring to the occupied West Bank as Judea and Samaria.

After President-elect Donald Trump announced his nomination of Mike Huckabee for U.S. Ambassador to Israel on Tuesday, prominent Christian nationalists — who see unwavering support for Israel as key to hastening Armageddon and the Second Coming of Christ — were thrilled.

Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, President-elect Donald Trump’s pick to be ambassador to Israel, has long rejected a Palestinian state in territory previously seized by Israel.

Arab Americans and liberal Jewish voters, however, have ample reason to fear the naming of pro-settlement, pro-Netanyahu officials to top foreign policy posts in the new administration.

Choosing two men with such strong views on the legitimacy of the West Bank settlements at a time when their status is being legally challenged in international courts makes a powerful statement.