U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee said he does not believe a Palestinian state remains a U.S. foreign policy goal, signaling a shift from the longstanding two-state solution approach. In a Bloomberg interview, Huckabee said, "I don’t think so," when asked if Palestinian statehood was still an American objective. He added that cultural changes needed for such a state are unlikely "in our lifetime."
Huckabee’s remarks drew immediate scrutiny. The State Department distanced itself, saying Huckabee was speaking personally. Spokesperson Tammy Bruce stated, "I’m not going to explain them or really comment on them at all," affirming that policy is made by the president and White House.
The White House, meanwhile, referenced past statements from President Donald Trump, including a 2024 comment suggesting a U.S. takeover of Gaza, which was widely condemned as a call for “ethnic cleansing.” Trump has previously expressed skepticism about the viability of a two-state solution, stating last year, "I’m not sure a two-state solution anymore is going to work."
Huckabee, a staunch pro-Israel evangelical Christian and former Arkansas governor, also floated the idea that a Palestinian state could be located outside of the Israeli-occupied West Bank, known in biblical terms as Judea and Samaria. He has long defended Jewish settlements in the area, home to around 3 million Palestinians.
Trump’s first term saw a cooling of U.S. support for Palestinian statehood, favoring pro-Israel policies. His selection of Huckabee further underscores that stance in his second term.
The backdrop is ongoing violence that erupted in October 2023, when Hamas killed 1,200 Israelis and took 250 hostages. Israel’s retaliatory assault on Gaza has since killed nearly 55,000 Palestinians, per Gaza health officials, and sparked genocide and war crime allegations, which Israel denies.