Huckabee slams French push for Palestinian state: ‘Carve it out of the French Riviera’

 

US ambassador to Jerusalem says potential recognition of Palestinian state ‘inappropriate’ while Israel is fighting a war in Gaza  

 

 

US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee dismissed France’s potential upcoming recognition of a Palestinian state, calling the move “revolting” while Israel fights Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

“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,” he told Fox News.

Huckabee’s comments came after French President Emmanuel Macron said Friday that recognizing a Palestinian state, with conditions, is “not only a moral duty, but a political necessity.”

Macron also said that European countries should “harden the collective position” against Israel if it did not respond appropriately to the humanitarian situation in Gaza, including keeping open the possibility of sanctions.  

 

 France is considering recognizing a Palestinian state ahead of a United Nations conference, which France and Saudi Arabia are co-hosting from June 17-20, to lay out the parameters for a roadmap to a Palestinian state, while ensuring Israel’s security. 

 

 

“October 7 changed a lot of things,” said Huckabee, referring to the Hamas-led terror onslaught in 2023 that started the Gaza war. “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,” Huckabee added, stressing Washington will not participate in the conference. 

 

 

A former governor of Arkansas and two-time Republican US presidential candidate, Huckabee was confirmed for the post in April by the US Senate, which voted roughly along party lines.

The conservative Baptist minister is a self-identified Christian Zionist who visited Israel dozens of times prior to his posting. He has made many pro-settlement statements in the past, including staunch support for Jewish settlements in the West Bank and Israeli annexation of the territory, as well as opposition to Palestinian statehood and denial that a Palestinian nation exists.  

 

 

The United States has long opposed Palestinian efforts to secure statehood status that are not achieved through direct negotiations with Israel.

Even under the previous US administration, led by then-president Joe Biden, which was seen as more vocally sympathetic toward the Palestinians, the White House insisted that the Palestinian Authority would need to undergo significant reforms before a Palestinian state was recognized. The Ramallah-based PA has long been marred by allegations of corruption and mismanagement. 

 

https://www.timesofisrael.com/huckabee-slams-french-push-for-palestinian-state-carve-it-out-of-the-riviera/#openwebComments