US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee has made a proposal that Muslim-majority countries could offer territory to create a state for Palestinians.
In an interview with the BBC, Huckabee noted that Muslim nations control land "644 times larger" than that of Israel. "So maybe, if there's such a desire for a Palestinian state, someone might step up and host it," he suggested.
Huckabee also described the two-state solution as merely "an aspirational goal."
The two-state solution offers an independent Palestinian state in the occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip, with East Jerusalem as its capital, coexisting alongside Israel.
In a separate conversation with Bloomberg, Huckabee added that the US is no longer actively working toward the creation of a Palestinian state.
Despite Huckabee’s controversial remarks, US State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce said that Huckabee’s opinions were personal and it is not the official US policy.
Later this month, French and Saudi diplomats are expected to convene a United Nations conference in New York, aimed at outlining a path to Palestinian statehood. Huckabee criticized the upcoming gathering, calling it "ill-timed and inappropriate," particularly amid ongoing conflict, and warned that it could pose a threat to Israeli security.
"Why must it be carved out of the same land Israel now occupies?" Huckabee asked during the BBC's Newshour, questioning the foundational assumption of the two-state framework.
When pressed on whether the US opposes the establishment of a Palestinian state in the West Bank, he said: "I wouldn't say never, but I would say there would have to be a fundamental cultural change. Right now, there is a culture that glorifies targeting and killing Jews—and rewards it. That must change."
A long-time proponent of a "greater Israel," Huckabee frequently uses biblical references such as "Judea and Samaria" when referring to the West Bank. His views are closely aligned with ultranationalist factions in Israel, some of whom support relocating Palestinians to neighboring Arab or Muslim countries—a stand that is condemned by many human rights groups as it is a violation of the international law.
Source: Input from TBS and CNN
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