Mike Huckabee, the US ambassador to Israel, has come out strongly against French calls for the recognition of a Palestinian State, saying France should give away its own territory instead.
According to Huckabee, there is “no such thing as an occupation” regarding the Palestinian territories.
He added: “If France is really so determined to see a Palestinian State, carve out a piece of the French Riviera.”
France is, together with Saudi Arabia, co-chairing an international conference at the United Nations from June 17-20 to lay out the parameters for a roadmap to a Palestinian State, while ensuring Israel’s security.
Paris indicated it wanted to recognise a Palestinian State later this year.
In a reaction on Fox News on May 31, Huckabee said the French initiative was “incredibly inappropriate when Israel is in the midst of a war”.
“October 7 changed a lot of things,” he said, referring to the Hamas attack on Israel in 2023.
Regarding the French calls, he said:”They [France] are not welcome to impose that kind of pressure on a sovereign nation.”
“And I find it revolting that they think they have the right to do such a thing,” Huckabee, a self-identified Christian Zionist, added, stressing Washington would not participate in the conference.
𝗨.𝗦. 𝗔𝗺𝗯𝗮𝘀𝘀𝗮𝗱𝗼𝗿 𝘁𝗼 𝗜𝘀𝗿𝗮𝗲𝗹 𝗠𝗶𝗸𝗲 𝗛𝘂𝗰𝗸𝗮𝗯𝗲𝗲 on France's initiative to reward Hamas with a Palestinian State:
"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… pic.twitter.com/yV8KHPbayl
— Israel Foreign Ministry (@IsraelMFA) June 1, 2025
Replying to Huckabee, Hamas said his statements marked a “flagrant disregard for the legitimate national rights of our people”.
Hamas added that Huckabee “reaffirms the full American bias towards the Zionist occupation and its expansionist colonial approach”.
It called on the UN to “take a serious stand to support our Palestinian people in their legitimate struggle to obtain their freedom”.
Earlier, Israel said French President Emmanuel Macron was undertaking “a crusade against the Jewish State” because of his criticism regarding the humanitarian situation in Gaza.
Macron called for European nations to “harden their collective stance” on Israel if things did not improve.
Israeli defence minister Israel Katz reacted to Macron’s suggestion by saying: “They will recognise a Palestinian state on paper – but we will build the Jewish Israeli State here on this soil.”
The Israeli Government has vehemently disapproved of international recognition of a Palestinian State and has recently been expanding in the West Bank, creating 22 new settlements.
The US has consistently opposed Palestinian efforts to gain statehood outside the framework of direct negotiations with Israel.
