WASHINGTON/ISRAEL – The U.S. no longer considers the creation of an independent Palestinian state as a core foreign policy goal, according to Mike Huckabee, the U.S. ambassador to Israel. In an interview with Bloomberg News, Huckabee said, “I don’t think so,” when asked whether a Palestinian state remains part of American policy.
His comments mark a stark shift from previous U.S. positions that supported a two-state solution. Huckabee, a staunch supporter of Israel and known for his conservative Christian views, further suggested that if a Palestinian state is to be created, land could be sourced from a Muslim country rather than Israel.
However, U.S. State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce declined to comment on Huckabee’s remarks, saying, “He expressed a personal opinion,” and clarified that foreign policy decisions rest with President Trump and the White House.
When pressed about a possible policy change, the White House referred to Trump’s earlier controversial suggestion of placing Gaza under U.S. control. That idea faced harsh criticism from human rights groups, Arab nations, Palestinians, and the UN, calling it a form of “ethnic cleansing.”
The ambassador’s remarks come just before a UN-backed international conference on the creation of a Palestinian state. Meanwhile, Israel’s military actions in Gaza since October 2023 have killed over 55,000 Palestinians, many of them women and children, raising global outcry over the humanitarian crisis.