U.S. No Longer Pursuing Palestinian Statehood, Says Ambassador Huckabee, Signaling Major Policy Shift

 In a development that marks a significant departure from decades of U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East, U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee has stated that the United States is no longer pursuing the establishment of an independent Palestinian state.

Speaking to Bloomberg News, Huckabee was asked whether a two-state solution remains a goal of U.S. diplomacy. “I don’t think so,” he replied, confirming what many analysts view as the clearest disavowal yet of a central tenet of U.S. policy in the region.

Middle East experts were quick to react. Khaled Elgindy, a senior fellow at Georgetown University’s Center for Contemporary Arab Studies and a former adviser to Palestinian negotiators, called the statement “unsurprising” in light of recent actions by the administration. “This is an administration openly endorsing the expulsion of Gaza’s population, legitimizing settlement expansion, and effectively abandoning the pretense of Palestinian sovereignty,” Elgindy said. “They are committed to Palestinian erasure—both physical and political.”

Yousef Munayyer, Director of the Palestine/Israel Program at the Arab Center Washington DC, echoed that sentiment, noting that Huckabee’s comments align with longstanding U.S. actions. “He is merely vocalizing what has been U.S. policy in practice across administrations. While previous officials upheld the rhetoric of a Palestinian state, actual policy has consistently undermined it.”

Ambassador Huckabee, a former Arkansas governor and evangelical Christian leader, has long held controversial views on the Israel-Palestine issue. During his 2008 presidential campaign, he denied the very existence of a Palestinian identity. On a 2017 visit to the occupied West Bank, Huckabee rejected the notion of Israeli occupation altogether, saying, “There is no such thing as the West Bank—it’s Judea and Samaria. There are no settlements—only communities and cities. There is no occupation.”

Commentators argue that Huckabee’s candid rhetoric represents a policy stance that was once kept quiet. “What distinguishes Huckabee is his willingness to say out loud what others have preferred to leave implied—the erasure of Palestinian political identity,” Munayyer remarked.

The ambassador’s statement arrives amid an intensifying humanitarian crisis in Gaza, where ongoing conflict has killed tens of thousands and displaced over 2 million residents. Analysts warn that this shift in U.S. policy could complicate diplomatic ties with key allies in Europe and the Arab world, who remain committed to the two-state framework. “This will place them in a difficult position,” Elgindy said. “They’ve long deferred to Washington’s lead.”

Adding further tension, the U.S. Treasury Department on the same day announced sanctions on six organizations, including the prominent Palestinian legal rights group Addameer. The department alleged affiliations with the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), a group designated as a terrorist organization by both the U.S. and EU. Addameer, which provides legal aid to Palestinians detained by Israeli and Palestinian authorities, has denied such ties.

The move drew international scrutiny. A 2022 raid by Israeli forces on Addameer’s West Bank offices was widely condemned by the United Nations, which noted that no credible evidence was presented. The Guardian later reported that a classified CIA assessment could not corroborate Israel’s designation of the group as a terrorist entity.

Huckabee, meanwhile, has gone a step further in redefining the contours of any potential Palestinian entity. Suggesting that a Palestinian state could instead be hosted by a “Muslim country,” he cited the vast territorial expanse of the Muslim world compared to Israel. “Muslim countries have 644 times more land than Israel. Perhaps one of them could host a Palestinian state,” he told the BBC. When questioned on the future of Palestinians in the West Bank—home to more than 3 million people—Huckabee responded with terminology favored by the Israeli government: “Does it have to be in Judea and Samaria?”

While former President Donald Trump was ambiguous on the two-state solution during his first term, his current stance remains undefined. The State Department has yet to comment on Huckabee’s remarks.

Observers suggest Huckabee’s statements signal a broader recalibration of U.S. Middle East policy—one that now appears to decisively reject the decades-old framework of a negotiated two-state solution.