'Let's hope they'll decide to be helpful': Huckabee tells 'Post' about Turkey's role - interview

US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee says Washington does not yet know whether Turkey will help stabilize the Middle East, but he hopes Ankara chooses that role.

"I don't think we know the full extent of it, whether they are helpful or not," Huckabee told The Jerusalem Post. "Let's hope that they will decide to be helpful."

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I don't think we know the full extent of it, whether they are helpful or not.

His comments followed an Israeli air strike on Syria's Abu al-Duhur airbase earlier this month, shortly before Turkish troops and air defense systems were deployed there. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel would continue acting forcefully against attempts by Turkey to undermine regional stability or threaten Israeli security.

Huckabee characterized the strike as a warning rather than an effort to cause major destruction. He said Israel had not taken lives or destroyed significant infrastructure, and that only the airport runway had been hit.

Using a baseball analogy, he compared the action to a pitcher brushing back a batter who has moved too close to the plate. "The point he's making is, back away from the plate. You've proven your point, but I'm about to prove mine. If you don't step back from the plate, the next one is going to hit you hard."

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Let's hope that they will decide to be helpful.

Turkey has increasingly criticized Israel in recent months. President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and other senior officials have condemned Israel, while Turkey's foreign minister called the country "a problem for all of humanity" and "a burden and a weight that humanity can no longer bear."

Huckabee said the United States had concerns about such statements and about what he described as financing routes through Turkey to Hamas in Gaza. He said that issue was serious and closely monitored.

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The point he's making is, back away from the plate. You've proven your point, but I'm about to prove mine. If you don't step back from the plate, the next one is going to hit you hard.