Quito (TDI): The United States has cautioned that unilateral recognition of a Palestinian state could complicate peace efforts and obstruct progress toward a ceasefire, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Thursday.
Speaking in Quito after a meeting with Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa, Rubio told reporters that Washington had advised several governments against taking such steps.
“We’ve been very clear with these countries, recognition outside of a negotiated framework won’t create a Palestinian state. What it will do is create more problems,” he said. “It will provoke reactions, make it harder to secure a ceasefire, and could even encourage the kind of actions we’ve recently witnessed.”
While stopping short of commenting directly on Israel’s debate over annexing parts of the West Bank, Rubio stressed that the fallout from international recognition was “wholly predictable.”
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According to Rubio, recent moves to strengthen the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank had the unintended effect of emboldening Hamas. “The very day France made its announcement, Hamas walked away from the negotiating table,” he claimed.
French President Emmanuel Macron has called a UN summit for September 22 to formally recognize Palestinian statehood, citing worsening humanitarian conditions in Gaza and what he describes as Israeli unwillingness to engage in meaningful negotiations.
The French initiative has gained support from Belgium, Canada, and Australia. In response, Israel’s far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich urged the annexation of parts of the West Bank to “bury the idea of a Palestinian state.”
Read More: Macron Urges UK to Back Palestinian Statehood
The United Arab Emirates, which normalized ties with Israel in 2020 under the Abraham Accords, warned that annexation would cross a “red line” and risk undermining the landmark agreement, regarded as a major diplomatic success by both US President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Trump has continued to voice staunch support for Israel during its military campaign in Gaza, launched after the Hamas-led assault on October 7, 2023.
