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Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, who was appointed U.S. ambassador to Israel by President-elect Donald Trump, previously argued that there is no such thing as a Palestinian.

Huckabee, who has been a strong defender of Israel throughout his career, made the statement during his 2008 presidential campaign, claiming that Palestinian identity was “a political tool to try to take land away from Israel.”

In a video recorded by CNN’s Andrew Kaczynski during Huckabee’s 2015 presidential bid, Huckabee suggested that if a Palestinian state were established, it should be created in neighboring countries such as Egypt, Syria or Jordan, rather than within Israel’s borders.

When one of the men asked about the possibility of a Palestinian state outside of Israel, Huckabee replied that he thought it was a better option.

“There are Arabs and Persians,” Huckabee continued during his 2008 appearance. “And that’s so complex. But there really is no such thing. This was a political tool to take land away from Israel.”

In the video previously published by BuzzFeed, Huckabee added that he believes a Palestinian state could emerge from land in Egypt, Syria or Jordan.

“My point is, if that’s the problem, if it’s real estate, if you look at a map and say how much Israel has and how much the Arab states own, then there’s plenty of land.”

CNN reached out to Huckabee and the Trump transition team for comment on whether Huckabee stands by his comments.