Huckabee says US ‘not required to get permission’ from Israel to cut deal with Houthis

United States Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee says that after speaking with US President Donald Trump and US Vice President JD Vance, he understands that Washington’s actions against Houthi attacks on Israel will depend on whether American citizens are harmed, according to Channel 12 news.

“The United States isn’t required to get permission from Israel to make some type of arrangement that would get the Houthis from firing on our ships,” Huckabee says in a clip from an interview set to air this weekend on the Israeli network.

His comments follow Trump’s surprise announcement this week of a bilateral ceasefire agreement between the Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen and the US, after which the rebel group vowed to continue its attacks on Israel.

“Here’s what I can tell you, because I had a conversation with both the president and the vice president last night,” Huckabee continues.

“There’s 700,000 Americans living in Israel, if the Houthis want to continue doing things to Israel and they hurt an American, then it becomes our business,” says the ambassador.

Asked by Channel 12 to clarify whether he means that only if a Houthi missile hits an American citizen will the US intervene to fight the rebel group, the ambassador says, “It’s a matter of what becomes our immediate business.”