Mike Huckabee, U.S. ambassador to Israel, revealed that the White House is no longer pursuing a two-state solution between Israel and the Palestinians, breaking precedent set by decades of U.S. foreign policy.
“Unless there are some significant things that happen that change the culture, there’s no room for it,” Huckabee said this week during an interview with Bloomberg.
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Those things probably will not happen “in our lifetime,” he added.
When pressed on whether a Palestinian state remains a goal of U.S. policy, as it had been for the past two decades, he said, “I don’t think so.”
A two-state solution has often been viewed as the only option that will bring lasting security and peace in the Middle East, allowing both Israelis and Palestinians living in disputed areas, such as Gaza and the West Bank, to live in harmony. Former Presidents Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, and Barack Obama all attempted to pursue a two-state solution. President Donald Trump also pursued a two-state plan during his first term.
However, negotiations for such a solution have always fallen apart in part due to terrorist control over the disputed region in the form of Hamas and its allies.
Earlier this year, former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert revealed a 2008 map he offered Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas for a two-state solution that would have given the Palestinians over 95% of Judea and Samaria, also referred to as the West Bank, as well as Gaza. Abbas rejected that solution.
Rather than asking Israel to haggle with the Palestinian Authority and Hamas over the land, Huckabee suggested carving out a homeland for people in the region out of a Muslim country.
“Does it have to be in Judea and Samaria?” he asked.
This is not the first time Huckabee has questioned the wisdom of a two-state solution or pressed other Arab countries to take in Palestinians. He expressed similar sentiments during an interview last month with Israeli newspaper Haaretz.
“That’s a great question that both Palestinians and Israelis need to work out,” the ambassador said. “It’s not something I can figure out. And let’s face it: Many Palestinians are happy — and have been happy — to live in Israel. They have better jobs in Israel. They’re doctors, nurses, attorneys. They’re Palestinians, yet they live freely. The bigger question is: If there’s a desire for a particular state, does it have to exist within the current geographical boundaries of Israel?”
“I’m asking whether there truly needs to be a separate state,” Huckabee continued. “Muslim countries collectively have 644 times the landmass that Israel has. So I’m not saying there shouldn’t be [an independent Palestinian state], but the real questions are: Where would it be? How would it be governed? And what kind of culture would underpin it?”
The United States has refused to participate in an international conference in New York next week focused on a two-state solution. The event, led by France and Saudi Arabia, is focused on the idea of negotiating with the Palestinian Authority to drive Hamas out of Gaza and rebuild the area for Palestinians.
“It’s incredibly inappropriate in the midst of a war that Israel is dealing with to go out and present something that I think increasingly Israelis are steadfast against,” Huckabee told Fox News Digital.
“Oct. 7 changed a lot of things,” he added. “If France is really so determined to see a Palestinian state, I have a suggestion for them–carve out a piece of the French Riviera and create a Palestinian state. They are welcome to do that, but they are not welcome to impose that kind of pressure on a sovereign nation. And I find it revolting that they think they have the right to do such a thing.”
The Trump administration’s positioning comes after the president issued a novel proposal for developing Gaza earlier this year that was viewed by some lawmakers as marking a deathblow to hopes for a two-state solution.
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The U.S. would take ownership of the Gaza Strip under the plan, which would relocate roughly 2 million Palestinians living in the area. The proposal would redevelop the territory to serve as prized real estate on the Mediterranean Sea.
“This declaration … defies decades of bipartisan American support for a two-state solution — the only viable means to guaranteeing peace, stability, and security for both the Israeli and Palestinian peoples,” Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) said in response to the proposal. “Congress must stand up to this dangerous and reckless scheme.”