U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio criticized the 140 world leaders who have either recognized or indicated plans to recognize a Palestinian state, stating they couldn’t even identify where such a state would exist. Speaking with Fox News’ Brian Kilmeade on Thursday, Rubio remarked, “They can’t tell you where this Palestinian state is.”
He went on to question the legitimacy of those recognitions, highlighting the lack of clarity about who would govern such an entity. “They can’t tell you who will govern it. And I think number three, it’s counterproductive,” he said.
Rubio dismissed the significance of these international declarations, saying they have no bearing on reality. “It doesn’t mean anything,” he stated.
He stressed that only Israel could ultimately determine the creation of a Palestinian state. “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.”
Rubio warned that aligning with the idea of Palestinian statehood was tantamount to siding with Hamas, saying it would be an undeserved benefit to a terrorist organization. “At the end of the day, the Hamas side is the Palestinian statehood side.”
He also warned that such international statements were undermining negotiations by giving Hamas a sense of momentum and leverage. “If Hamas refuses to agree to a ceasefire, it guarantees a Palestinian state will be recognized by all these countries in September,” he said, adding that the timing and messaging were misguided.
Rubio elaborated that Hamas perceives itself as gaining the upper hand through global support. “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 explained that Hamas sees international sympathy as a shield, even as the humanitarian crisis deepens. “That’s how – they don’t care about how many people die in Gaza, and they – they’ve got hostages that they think is their shield, and now they’ve got all these countries sort of lining up on their side,” Rubio continued.
He expressed frustration that the plight of the Israeli hostages has not received sufficient attention from the global community.
Kilmeade then brought up the Arab League’s call for Hamas to disarm and agree to a two-state arrangement, asking if countries like Qatar hold influence in that regard.
Rubio acknowledged that Qatar has played a constructive role in negotiations and has shown dissatisfaction with Hamas’ behavior. “I think the moment of truth has to arrive, however, where there have to be consequences if Hamas continues to disagree,” Rubio added.
He also connected the growing anti-Israel sentiment worldwide to a broader ideological movement that he believes emboldens Hamas.
“We have seen this – see the unity of these pro-Islamist, anti-Western, anti-capitalism left sort of merger,” he said, pointing to protests opposing immigration enforcement like ICE. “In many of these things, it’s the same people.”
Rubio noted that these groups often overlap with the activists causing disruptions on American campuses and that the same dynamics are pressuring governments abroad. “They’re wearing the same – waving the same flags, wearing the same headscarf, and it’s the same people that shut down our universities. That’s what we’ve experienced domestically, and this has become a factor in many these countries as well. They’re under tremendous domestic pressure,” he said.
He took aim at media organizations like the BBC, accusing them of one-sided coverage. “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,” he continued. “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.”
{Matzav.com}
America and Israel squaring off with practically the whole world.