Huckabee suggests Muslim countries should give up land for Palestinian state

US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee has proposed that Muslim-majority countries could consider offering territory for the creation of a future Palestinian state.

In an interview with the BBC, Huckabee remarked that Muslim nations possess land "644 times larger" than that controlled by Israel. "So maybe, if there's such a desire for a Palestinian state, someone might step up and host it," he suggested.

Huckabee also described the two-state solution—a long-standing peace framework supported by much of the international community, including past US administrations—as merely "an aspirational goal."

The two-state solution envisions an independent Palestinian state in the occupied West Bank and Gaza, with East Jerusalem as its capital, existing alongside Israel.

Speaking to Bloomberg, Huckabee added that the US is no longer actively pursuing the establishment of a Palestinian state.

Responding to his remarks, State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce clarified that Huckabee was expressing his personal views, and that official US policy in the region is directed by the president.

Later this month, French and Saudi diplomats will convene a United Nations conference in New York aiming to outline a pathway to Palestinian statehood. Huckabee criticized the event, calling it "ill-timed and inappropriate," especially amid ongoing conflict, and warned it could jeopardize Israeli security.

"Why must it be carved out of the same land Israel now occupies?" Huckabee asked during the BBC's Newshour, challenging the traditional premise of a two-state arrangement.

Pressed on whether the US opposes a Palestinian state in the West Bank, he responded: "I wouldn't say never, but I would say there would have to be a fundamental cultural change. Right now, there is a culture that glorifies targeting and killing Jews—and rewards it. That must change."

Israel currently rejects the two-state solution, asserting that any resolution should come through direct negotiations, not imposed preconditions.

Huckabee, a long-time advocate of a "greater Israel," often uses biblical terminology such as "Judea and Samaria" to describe the West Bank. His views align with ultranationalist factions in Israel, some of whom advocate for relocating Palestinians to neighboring Arab or Muslim nations—a policy widely condemned by human rights organizations and Western governments as a breach of international law.

Huckabee also criticized US allies for sanctioning two far-right Israeli ministers, Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich, over their repeated incitements of violence against Palestinians in the West Bank. The sanctions—announced by the UK, Canada, Australia, Norway, and New Zealand—include travel bans and asset freezes.

UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy said the ministers had "encouraged extremist violence and serious violations of Palestinian rights." Israel strongly objected to the sanctions, and Huckabee labeled the move "shocking," saying, "I've yet to hear a compelling reason why these elected officials were sanctioned by countries that should respect Israeli sovereignty. They have committed no criminal offenses."

The Gaza conflict was sparked by the October 2023 Hamas attack on Israel, which killed approximately 1,200 people and resulted in about 251 hostages being taken. As of now, 56 hostages remain in Gaza, with at least 20 believed to be alive. Since the war began, the Hamas-run Health Ministry in Gaza reports over 54,927 Palestinians have been killed—more than a quarter of them children, according to UN estimates.