The Department of State is frustrated by France and the United Kingdom’s plan to recognize a sovereign Palestinian state, saying such rhetoric gives “false hope” to terrorists and denigrates Hamas’s victims.
At a press conference on Tuesday, Tammy Bruce called the two European powers’ willingness to legitimize Palestinian sovereignty a “slap in the face to the victims of Oct. 7” and “rewards Hamas” for its terrorist attacks.
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“It gives one group hope, and that is Hamas. It is rewarding of that kind of behavior — that if you wait long enough, if you don’t cooperate — in any other normal environment where someone is so utterly defeated, they would surrender,” she told the press. “In this case, that just does not occur.”
“And part of it is because of perhaps the hope they receive on how long the suffering lasts, how much that pushes the world to acquiesce to their arguments,” Bruce continued. “There’s one group that benefits from the images and reality of the horribleness, and that is Hamas. And so there’s a reason they don’t cooperate and stop. And this adds one more thing onto it that adds into their apparent posture that this is a winning thing to do. Clearly, we are the opposite mind.”
French President Emmanuel Macron sparked the debate last week when he announced that his country would recognize a Palestinian state at the United Nations General Assembly meeting in September.
“True to its historic commitment to a just and lasting peace in the Middle East, I have decided that France will recognize the State of Palestine,” Macron wrote. “I will make the solemn announcement at the United Nations General Assembly next September.”
“The urgency today is to end the war in Gaza and to provide aid to the civilian population,” he continued. “Peace is possible.”
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer fell in line behind Macron on Tuesday morning, saying the U.K. will do the same if a ceasefire deal is not reached before the U.N. meeting.
President Donald Trump, who visited the U.K. this week and met with Starmer, told reporters aboard Air Force One on Tuesday that the British prime minister’s decision didn’t bother him.
“I don’t mind him taking a position,” he said, clarifying that the United States “is not in that camp.”
Bruce was asked for clarification on Trump’s indifference in a follow-up question at the press briefing.
“None of us are in the business of telling people not to speak their mind,” Bruce said.
Trump dismissed Macron’s position on the matter, asserting that “what he says doesn’t matter.”
“He’s a very good guy. I like him,” Trump said of Macron. “But that statement doesn’t carry weight.”
The European Union and Arab League were joined by 17 countries in issuing a declaration on Tuesday calling on Hamas to end any attempts to remain in power.
“In the context of ending the war in Gaza, Hamas must end its rule in Gaza and hand over its weapons to the Palestinian Authority, with international engagement and support, in line with the objective of a sovereign and independent Palestinian State,” the document says.
Notably, the declaration was signed by Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and Egypt.
UK WILL RECOGNIZE PALESTINIAN STATE IF ISRAEL DOES NOT TAKE STEPS TO END GAZA CONFLICT
“For the first time, Arab countries and those in the Middle East condemn Hamas, condemn October 7, call for the disarmament of Hamas, call for its exclusion from Palestinian governance, and clearly express their intention to normalize relations with Israel in the future,” French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said.
The White House and State Department continue to oppose any two-state solution, a major point of divergence with Israel’s strongest supporters in Europe.