US slams UN conference on Israel-Palestinian issue, warns of consequences
US envoy to Israel says he does not think a Palestinian state is US policy goal
US President Donald Trump’s administration is discouraging governments around the world from attending a UN conference next week on a possible two-state solution between Israel and the Palestinians, according to a US cable seen by Reuters.
The diplomatic demarche, sent on Tuesday, says countries that take “anti-Israel actions” following the conference will be viewed as acting in opposition to US foreign policy interests and could face diplomatic consequences from Washington.
The demarche, which was not previously reported, runs squarely against the diplomacy of two close allies, France and Saudi Arabia, who are co-hosting the gathering next week in New York that aims to lay out the parameters for a roadmap to a Palestinian state, while ensuring Israel’s security.
“We are urging governments not to participate in the conference, which we view as counterproductive to ongoing, life-saving efforts to end the war in Gaza and free hostages,” read the cable.
Meanwhile Washington’s ambassador to Israel has said he does not think an independent Palestinian state remains a US foreign policy goal, prompting the State Department to say he spoke for himself, Reuters reports.
“I don’t think so,” US Ambassador Mike Huckabee said in an interview with Bloomberg News published yesterday, when asked if a Palestinian state remains a goal of US policy.
Asked about Huckabee’s comments, the White House referred to remarks earlier this year by Trump when he proposed a US takeover of Gaza, which was condemned globally by rights groups, Arab states, Palestinians and the UN as a proposal of “ethnic cleansing.”
Asked whether Huckabee’s remarks represented a change in US policy, State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce declined to comment, saying policy-making was a matter for Trump and the White House.
“I’m not going to explain them or really comment on them at all. I think he certainly speaks for himself,” Bruce told reporters.
Huckabee, an evangelical Christian, is a staunch pro-Israel conservative.
“Unless there are some significant things that happen that change the culture, there’s no room for it,” Huckabee was quoted as saying by Bloomberg. Those probably won’t happen “in our lifetime,” he said.
Huckabee suggested a piece of land could be carved out of a Muslim country rather than asking Israel to make room. “Does it have to be in Judea and Samaria?” Huckabee said, using the biblical name the Israeli government favors for the Israeli-occupied West Bank, where some 3 million Palestinians live.
