JERUSALEM: The US ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee has lashed out at France’s advocacy for recognition of a Palestinian state, saying that if it supported such an outcome it could “carve out a piece of the French Riviera” and create one.
France is co-chairing with Saudi Arabia this month an international conference at the United Nations aimed at resurrecting the idea of a two-state solution, which the government of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu opposes.
Paris has also said it could recognise a Palestinian state itself this year.
In an interview with Fox News published on Saturday, Huckabee called the initiative at the UN “incredibly inappropriate when Israel is in the midst of a war”.
“October 7 changed a lot of things,“ he said, referring to the 2023 Hamas attack on Israel that sparked the war in Gaza.
“If France is really so determined to see a Palestinian state, I’ve got a suggestion for them — carve out a piece of the French Riviera and create a Palestinian state. They are welcome to do that, but they are not welcome to impose that kind of pressure on a sovereign nation.”
Israel on Friday accused French President Emmanuel Macron of undertaking a “crusade against the Jewish state” after he called for European countries to harden their stance on Israel if the humanitarian situation in Gaza did not improve.
The day before, Israel announced the creation of 22 new settlements in the West Bank, with Defence Minister Israel Katz later vowing to build a “Jewish Israeli state” in the occupied territory.
The settlements are regularly condemned by the United Nations as illegal under international law, and are seen as a major obstacle to the two-state solution.
But Huckabee, a staunch advocate for Israel, has said there is “no such thing as an occupation” when it comes to the Palestinian territories.
