Huckabee Proposes Taking Land from a Muslim Country to Establish a Palestinian State
The U.S. Ambassador to Israel says the creation of a Palestinian state is no longer a priority for Washington.
U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee said he does not believe that establishing an independent Palestinian state remains a goal of American foreign policy. He suggested that land be taken from a Muslim country to create a Palestinian state, prompting the State Department to clarify that the ambassador was expressing a personal opinion. The White House, for its part, pointed to previous remarks by President Donald Trump in which he voiced skepticism toward the two-state solution.
In an interview with Bloomberg on Tuesday, when asked whether a Palestinian state was still a U.S. policy goal, Huckabee said: “I don’t think so.”
In response to Huckabee’s comments, the White House referred to Trump’s statements earlier this year suggesting the U.S. take control of Gaza — a proposal widely condemned by human rights groups, Arab nations, Palestinians, and the UN as an attempt at “ethnic cleansing.”
The White House also recalled Trump’s statement in 2023, prior to his 2024 re-election, in which he said: “I’m no longer sure the two-state solution can work.”
Asked whether Huckabee’s remarks indicated a shift in U.S. policy, State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce declined to comment, saying that policy decisions are made by President Donald Trump and the White House.
In a regular press briefing, she said: “I’m not going to characterize the ambassador’s comments, explain them, or react to them. He is certainly speaking for himself.”
Huckabee was quoted as saying: “Unless some fundamental cultural changes occur, it’s just not going to happen.”
He added that such changes are unlikely “within our lifetime.”
During his first term, Trump had taken a relatively lukewarm stance on the two-state solution — a long-standing cornerstone of U.S. Middle East policy. Since the start of his second term, he has shown little indication of shifting his position.
Huckabee suggested that a future Palestinian state need not be carved from Israeli territory, asking: “Does it have to be in Judea and Samaria?” — a term used by the Israeli government to refer to the occupied West Bank, home to nearly three million Palestinians.
A former governor of Arkansas, Huckabee has been a staunch supporter of Israel throughout his political career and an advocate for Israeli settlements in the West Bank.
Trump has pursued strongly pro-Israel policies, and his appointment of Huckabee as ambassador signaled a continuation of that approach. For decades, the U.S. supported the two-state solution — envisioning a Palestinian state in the West Bank and Gaza alongside Israel.
An upcoming conference in New York, sponsored by France and Saudi Arabia, aims to promote the two-state solution and establish a Palestinian state. However, Israel rejects this initiative, viewing it as encouragement for Hamas.
