US Secretary of State Marco Rubio dismissed the recent moves by the governments of Canada, France, and the United Kingdom to recognize a Palestinian state, stating that those who seek to recognize such a state “can’t even tell you where this Palestinian state is" or who would rule it.
“They can’t tell you who will govern it," Rubio told Fox News' Brian Kilmeade yesterday. "It’s counterproductive," he said of the recognition of Palestine, adding that such recognition is "counterproductive."
“First of all, none of these countries has the ability to create a Palestinian state. There can be no Palestinian state unless Israel agrees to it,” he said.
He added: “At the end of the day, the Hamas side is the Palestinian statehood side.”
Rubio noted that the recognitions harm America's efforts to broker a ceasefire and hostage deal. “If Hamas refuses to agree to a ceasefire, it guarantees a Palestinian state will be recognized by all these countries in September."
“At the end of the day, Hamas is sitting there saying: We’re winning the PR war. We’ve got all these countries lining up on our side of this argument. We’ve got leverage now. We shouldn’t agree to anything. We should keep this thing going," he said.
In a surprising statement, Rubio said that Qatar has been helpful in the negotiations and has even become frustrated with Hamas' intransigence. “I think the moment of truth has to arrive, however, where there have to be consequences if Hamas continues to disagree," he said.
He criticized the international media for pushing fake narratives of Israeli evil while ignoring the continued plight of the hostages who are still held captive in Gaza. “You watch the programming of things like the BBC - 95 percent of their coverage is about how evil, in their narrative, Israel is. Very little coverage paid to the hostages, the families. You know what the cameras don’t capture? The suffering of 20 people living in tunnels right now, taken hostage by Hamas for almost, for a long time. No one’s covering that. No one’s talking about that.”
The Trump Administration has criticized France, Canada, and the UK for their declared intentions to recognize Palestine in September. Yesterday, US President Donald Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform: "The fastest way to end the Humanitarian Crises in Gaza is for Hamas to SURRENDER AND RELEASE THE HOSTAGES!!!"
Last night, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said during a press briefing that President Trump "expressed his displeasure and disagreement with the leaders of France, the United Kingdom, and Canada. He feels as though that's rewarding Hamas at a time where Hamas is the true impediment to a ceasefire and to the release of all of the hostages."
"The President wants to see all of the hostages released. He cares deeply about this. He has met with many of the former hostages, many of the families of those who have loved ones who are still being held hostage in Gaza," she said. "It is absolutely devastating what these poor people have been through."