Defying Trump, US ambassador says America ‘owes its very existence’ to Israel

US ambassador to the Israeli-occupied territories has said that his country owes its very existence to the Israeli regime and its legacy of occupation.

Mike Huckabee said on Wednesday that he is not only the US ambassador in the occupied territories, but also an ambassador of the Israeli regime to the American public.

"Without Israel, there would not be an America. We owe our very existence to what happened in this land," he said while addressing a settlement construction meeting near Bethlehem, in the occupied West Bank.

Huckabee’s remarks appeared to directly counter comments made a day earlier by US President Donald Trump, who claimed that Israel would not exist without him.

Trump said during the G7 summit in France that no other president would have rendered a greater service to the Israeli regime than he did by striking Iran twice within a year.

"Without the United States, there would be no Israel. Without me, there would be no Israel, because no other president was willing to do what I did," he said.

"Israel would have been blown up a long time ago, had I not gotten involved," Trump added.

The contrasting remarks from the US President and his ambassador to the occupied territories come amid growing discord between the US and Israel over how to manage the aftermath of their joint aggression on Iran, which began in late February and ended with a ceasefire in early April.

Trump ultimately agreed to concessions to Iran as part of a memorandum of understanding reached virtually over the weekend and planned to be signed later this week, aimed at permanently ending the aggression.

However, his efforts to finalize the agreement were repeatedly disrupted by Israeli attacks on Lebanon, which Iran viewed as a serious violation of the early April ceasefire.

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