Huckabee strongly criticizes French-backed Palestinian statehood efforts at the UN

US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee told Fox News Digital in an interview in Jerusalem earlier this week that the United States will not participate in a conference next month in New York City, hosted by France and Saudi Arabia, aimed at promoting recognition of a Palestinian state.

"It is absolutely inappropriate, in the middle of a war that Israel is waging, to come out and offer something that I think the Israelis are increasingly determined to reject," said Huckabee, a devout evangelical who has dedicated his life and livelihood to defending Israel and its annexation of the occupied West Bank.

Huckabee, who said last month that Israel had the right to starve Palestinians in Gaza, claimed: “October 7th (2023) changed a lot of things. If France is really determined to see a Palestinian state, I have a proposal for them: Carve out a part of the French Riviera and create a Palestinian state. We welcome them to do that, but we do not welcome them to impose that kind of pressure on a sovereign state. I find it disgusting that they think they have the right to do something like that.”

"I hope they reconsider, but the United States will not participate. It simply will not be part of this trick."

Commenting on the recently reported tensions between the two close allies, Huckabee noted that there may be disagreements between the Trump administration and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government, but there should be no fear of a rupture in bilateral relations.

"I don't think pro-Israel Americans need to worry about any disagreement between the United States and Israel," he said. "Are there sometimes differences of opinion about the next steps in the Gaza war, returning the hostages home, or perhaps avoiding a full-scale war with Iran? Of course, that's normal."

But, the US ambassador stressed, "Regarding the relationship between Israel and the United States, it is not in any way at risk, it is not in any way torn or fractured. It is solid, and it must be. We have no choice. It is vital that the United States maintain its partnership—and I use this word deliberately—it is not a friendship, it is not an alliance, it is a partnership, which means that we are bound together in intelligence and military exchanges—in many ways our countries are closely linked."

Regarding the talks between Washington and Tehran, the ambassador described Iran as "one of the greatest, if not the greatest, threats to world peace," warning that it poses a serious and direct existential threat not only to Israel, but also to many Gulf states, and ultimately to the United States.

He said, "The Iranians have described Israel as the 'Little Satan,' but America is the 'Great Satan.' They have always treated Israel as an appetizer and the United States as the main course." It is very important, when people have told you repeatedly over the course of 46 years that they are planning to kill you, to start taking them seriously.

However, Huckabee expressed hope that the ongoing nuclear negotiations between the two countries would be successful and avoid any kind of military conflict.

"But when diplomacy fails, soldiers appear," he said.

"I find it hard to believe that the Iranians, after all these years of pushing toward a weaponized nuclear device, would suddenly come to their senses and say we've changed. We don't want that anymore, but let's hope they do. But if they don't, the president has been absolutely clear that Iran will not have a nuclear weapon."

Regarding Israel's ongoing war on the Gaza Strip, he stressed that the suffering could end immediately - if Hamas chose to behave well and lay down its weapons.

He said: "We all hope and pray that Hamas will hand over all the hostages and release them, and then leave Gaza once and for all. If you do those two things, it's over. It could have ended in October 2023; it should have ended. What they did was unbelievable, horrific, heinous, uncivilized, and barbaric behavior."

He noted that President Donald Trump has repeatedly insisted that Hamas has no future in Gaza. Huckabee said, "They can't govern it, and they can't stay."

He added, "Israel has made clear its willingness to airlift them into exile. They have a way out, but no entrance. They must leave, and all hostages must be returned, alive and dead."

He also expressed confidence in the possibility of expanding the scope of the normalization agreements between Arab and Islamic countries with Israel, the so-called "Abraham Accords," concluded during Trump's first term, which normalized relations between Israel and four Arab countries: the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Sudan, and Morocco.

While not naming any new countries considering joining, Huckabee said, "There are a number of countries that now realize that hostility toward Israel makes no sense." He added, "It's a delicate path for some countries; they can't move faster than their people are willing to accept... But there's a great atmosphere and the potential for radical changes and significant additions to the Abraham Accords."