US Ambassador to Israel Says America No Longer Supports Independent Palestine

US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee said America no longer pursues the goal of an independent Palestinian state. Analysts believe this is a rejection of one of the cornerstones of US Middle East diplomacy, writes The Guardian.

Photo: Michael Bush | Dreamstime.com

Asked by Bloomberg News whether a Palestinian state remains a goal of U.S. policy, he replied: "I don't think so."

The former Arkansas governor, appointed by Donald Trump as US ambassador to Israel, went further, suggesting that any Palestinian state could be created on the territory of “some Muslim country,” rather than through Israeli concessions.

On the subject: Israeli Embassy Employees Shot Dead in Washington

"Unless there is a significant cultural shift, there is no room for it [an independent Palestinian state]," the agency quoted him as saying, adding that such changes would likely "not happen in our lifetimes."

In an interview with the BBC, he said: "Muslim countries have 644 times more land than Israel. So if there is a desire to create a Palestinian state, maybe someone will say: we want to make room for it."

When asked about the Palestinians' aspirations in the West Bank to establish their own state, Huckabee asked: "Does it have to be in Judea and Samaria?"

During his first term, Trump took a relatively cautious stance on the two-state solution, a long-standing pillar of U.S. policy in the Middle East, and he said little on the issue during his second campaign.

Middle East analysts noted that Huckabee's statements merely confirmed changes that had long been expected.

“This is not at all surprising given everything we have seen over the past four-plus months, including the open endorsement of the eviction of Gazans, the legitimization of settlement policy and the annexation of Israel,” said Khaled El-Gindi, a fellow at Georgetown University’s Center for Contemporary Arab Studies and a former adviser to Palestinian negotiators.

He believes that during Trump’s first term, the US nominally supported the formation of a Palestinian state, but has now abandoned “even this appearance.”

As Yousef Munayer, director of the Palestine and Israel program at the Center for Arab Studies in Washington, said, Huckabee was merely voicing what U.S. policy had long demonstrated in practice.

The ambassador’s position is rooted in Huckabee’s evangelical Christian views and longstanding support for Israeli settlement expansion. During his 2008 presidential campaign, Huckabee declared, “There is no such thing as a Palestinian.” (Mike Huckabee ran in the 2008 Republican primary. The campaign began on January 28, 2007, and he dropped out in May 2008 after losing the Texas primary. Huckabee repeated the experience in 2016. – Note.)

During a visit to the West Bank in 2017, Huckabee completely rejected the very notion of Israeli occupation.

"I believe that Israel has a legitimate claim to Judea and Samaria," Huckabee said at the time. "There are certain words that I refuse to use. There is no such thing as the West Bank. It's Judea and Samaria. There is no such thing as a settlement — it's communities, neighborhoods, cities. And there is no such thing as an occupation."

Munayier said Huckabee is unique in that he is willing to openly acknowledge goals that other officials have preferred to keep hidden. Analysts say Huckabee’s outspoken rejection of Palestinian statehood, as the war in Gaza continues, could create diplomatic difficulties for U.S. allies.

"This will put European and Arab states in a difficult position because they remain firmly committed to the two-state solution but have always been subordinate to Washington," El-Guindi said.

You may be interested in: top New York news, stories of our immigrants and helpful tips about life in the Big Apple - read it all on ForumDaily New York

Hours after Huckabee's comments were reported, the US announced sanctions against one of the leading Palestinian rights groups, Addameer, as well as five charities in the Middle East and Europe, alleging that they support Palestinian militants.

The US Treasury Department alleged that Addameer, which provides legal assistance to Palestinians detained by Israel or the Palestinian Authority in the occupied West Bank, is linked to the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), which the US and EU consider a terrorist organisation.

Read also on ForumDaily:

Israel intercepts yacht Greta Thunberg was using to enter Gaza

Terrorist attack in Colorado: participants of pro-Jewish march suffered serious injuries

Resort with a golden statue of Trump: how the US president sees the future of Gaza

Do you want more important and interesting news about life in the USA and immigration to America? — support us donate! Also subscribe to our page Facebook. Select the “Priority in display” option and read us first. Also, don't forget to subscribe to our РєР ° РЅР ° Р »РІ Telegram  and Instagram- there is a lot of interesting things there. And join thousands of readers ForumDaily New York — there you will find a lot of interesting and positive information about life in the metropolis.