AhlulBayt News Agency: Mike Huckabee, the newly appointed US ambassador to Israel, has stated that Washington no longer supports the establishment of an independent Palestinian state. He suggested that if such a state were to be created, it could be located elsewhere in the region rather than in the occupied West Bank.
Huckabee made these remarks during an interview with Bloomberg News on Tuesday, ahead of an upcoming United Nations conference focused on recognizing the state of Palestine.
He argued that significant cultural changes would be necessary for a Palestinian state to exist, adding that such changes are unlikely to happen “in our lifetime.”
The 69-year-old Christian Zionist further suggested that Israel’s neighboring Muslim countries could offer land for a Palestinian state instead of expecting Israel to make territorial concessions.
“Does it have to be in Judea and Samaria?” Huckabee asked, using the Israeli term for the West Bank.
Huckabee has long supported the Zionist narrative that the occupied Palestinian territories belong to the Jewish people.
During his 2008 presidential campaign in Massachusetts, he made controversial remarks that sparked widespread criticism.
His latest comments come as France and Saudi Arabia prepare to co-host a conference in New York from June 17 to 20, aimed at advancing international recognition of Palestinian statehood.
Both nations have pledged to remove obstacles to Palestinian recognition during the event.
France has been urging European countries, including the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, and Belgium, to collectively recognize Palestine at the conference.
French President Emmanuel Macron hopes the event will help restart peace negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians by securing official recognition of Palestinian statehood from several European nations.
If successful, France and the UK would become the first G7 countries to recognize Palestine—a long-standing demand from the Palestinian people.
Currently, more than 140 UN member states recognize Palestine, with Spain, Ireland, and Norway joining the list last year.
In his remarks, Huckabee also blamed Hamas for prolonging the war in Gaza, stating that the group must release its remaining hostages for the conflict to end.
Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump has been advocating for the takeover of Gaza since February, proposing to relocate its residents and transform the area into a tourist destination.
This proposal has been widely rejected by the Muslim world and numerous other nations, who argue that it amounts to ethnic cleansing.
The Israeli military launched its war on Gaza on October 7, 2023.
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