Washington, Mar 26 (AP) Mike Huckabee, President Donald Trump's nominee for US ambassador to Israel, has attempted to distance himself from his past controversial statements about the conflict between Israel and Palestine, pledging on Capitol Hill to "carry out the president's priorities, not mine".

"I am not here to articulate or defend my own views or policies, but to present myself as one who will respect and represent the president whose overwhelming election by the people will hopefully give me the honour of serving as ambassador to the State of Israel," Huckabee said in his opening statement.

Trump nominated Huckabee, a well-known evangelical Christian and vehement supporter of Israel, to take on the critical post in Jerusalem days after he won reelection on a campaign promise to end the now 17-month war in Gaza.

But after a brief ceasefire, US and Arab mediators are now struggling to get a ceasefire deal back on track after Israeli forces resumed the war last week with a surprise wave of deadly airstrikes.

While Republican senators applauded Huckabee's staunch support for America's closest ally, Israel, Democrats questioned his past rhetoric about Palestinians deemed “extreme” by even some pro-Israel groups and contradicting longstanding US policy in the region.

The former Arkansas governor acknowledged his past support for Israel's right to annex the West Bank and incorporate its Palestinian population into Israel, but said it would not be his “prerogative” to carry out that policy.

“If confirmed, it will be my responsibility to carry out the president's priorities, not mine,” Huckabee said in response to Democratic Senator Jeff Merkley's questions.

Huckabee, a one-time presidential hopeful, has also repeatedly backed referring to the West Bank by its biblical name of "Judea and Samaria", a term that right-wing Israeli politicians and activists have thus far fruitlessly pushed the US to accept.

He did not give a clear answer to whether he still stands by that when pushed by Senator Chris Van Hollen.

Most notably, Huckabee has long been opposed to the idea of a two-state solution between Israel and the Palestinian people.

In an interview last year, he went even further, saying that he doesn't even believe in referring to the Arab descendants of people who lived in British-controlled Palestine as "Palestinians".

As the situation in Gaza has deteriorated with the recent collapse of the Israel-Hamas ceasefire and hostage release deal, Israeli officials have begun to talk more seriously about reoccupation of the territory, something to which President Joe Biden's administration had been adamantly opposed.

Trump has made his proposals about a potential US takeover of Gaza, which have attracted attention as well as strong criticism from Arab nations and others.

When asked about Trump's plan, Huckabee denied that the president ever said he would “force displacement" of Palestinians from Gaza “unless it is for their safety” and says Palestinians could be incentivised to leave.

Even before his hearing started, Democrats and some pro-Israel groups voiced their opposition to his nomination, saying that his views on the conflict are “extreme” and "counter to Americans' interests".

“Huckabee's positions are not the words of a thoughtful diplomat -- they are the words of a provocateur whose views are far outside international consensus and contrary to the core bipartisan principles of American diplomacy,” Jerry Nadler, a senior Jewish Democrat, said in a statement.

“In one of the most volatile and violent areas in the world today, there is no need for more extremism, and certainly not from the historic ambassador's post and behind the powerful seal of the United States.” Jeremy Ben-Ami, president of the pro-Israel group J Street, which previously criticised the Biden and Trump administrations' handling of the war, echoed that sentiment, saying Huckabee's views “would undermine American interests and the administration's own stated commitment to pursuit of long-term regional peace and security".

“Huckabee's embrace of annexation, extremist settlers and fanatical Christian Zionism stands in stark contrast to the Jewish, democratic values held by the overwhelming majority of our community -- and in stark contrast to Israel's founding values of justice, equality and peace," he added.

Another nominee who testified before the committee on Tuesday was Kevin Cabrera, Trump's pick to be the ambassador to Panama, a country that has bristled at the Republican president's repeated calls for the US to retake control of the Panama Canal for national security reasons due to potential threats from China.

"One of the key aspects of our cooperation is ensuring the security of the Panama Canal, a critical international waterway that facilitates global trade and economic growth," Cabrera said in his opening remarks.

He also praised decisions by the Panamanian government to withdraw from China's Belt and Road Initiative and to review contracts with a China-based company that is running ports at both ends of the canal.

The company has preliminarily agreed to sell its interests in the subsidiaries that run the ports, but the deal is not yet complete.

Cabrera also faced repeated calls from Democrats to commit to upholding Panama's sovereignty and advising the president to do the same, but responded that he would defer to Trump, who has said “all the options are on the table” when it comes to asserting US control over the Panama Canal. (AP) ARI