Kuwait city: US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Thursday harshly criticized the United Kingdom, Canada, and France for announcing plans to recognize the State of Palestine by next September.
According to Kuwait News Agency, Rubio expressed that these announcements are "irrelevant," describing them as annoying but ultimately meaningless. He emphasized, "First of all, none of these countries have the ability to create a Palestinian state. There can be no Palestinian state unless Israel agrees to it."
Rubio further questioned the practicality of these plans by pointing out the lack of clarity regarding the proposed state's boundaries and governance. He argued that recognizing the Palestinian state could be counterproductive. Rubio also suggested that such recognition could be perceived as a reward to Hamas, stating, "At the end of the day, the Hamas side is the Palestinian statehood side. So you are creating this reward."
The US Secretary of State also expressed concerns that the announcements from the UK, Canada, and France might undermine ongoing ceasefire talks. He highlighted how the UK's stance could potentially embolden Hamas, as the UK has indicated it would recognize a Palestinian state if Israel does not agree to a ceasefire by September. Rubio remarked, "If Hamas refuses to agree to a ceasefire, it guarantees a Palestinian state will be recognized by all these countries in September. So they're not going to agree to a ceasefire. I mean, it's so clumsy."