Deutsche Welle reported today: "US Ambassador to Israel Huckabee (Mike Huckabee) said in an interview broadcast by Fox News on June 1 that France could give up a piece of the Riviera to create a Palestinian state. He said that people welcome the French doing so, but do not want them to impose such pressure on a sovereign nation. The Riviera is located in southern France and is famous for its beautiful coastline, with beach resorts such as Nice and Cannes."
Huckabee's remarks were in response to French President Macron, who stated on May 30 that establishing a Palestinian state was not only "a moral responsibility but also a political requirement" under certain conditions. He also called for Western countries to take a tough stance and impose sanctions on Israel if the situation in Gaza did not improve rapidly.
Huckabee is a conservative hardliner who has long supported the Jewish settler movement in the West Bank. The United Nations often condemns these settlements for violating international law.
France and Saudi Arabia will host an international conference on implementing the "two-state solution" at the UN headquarters in New York later this month. The vision of this conference is to establish an independent Palestinian state coexisting peacefully with Israel. However, Israel condemned the French initiative as a response to "terrorist organizations attempting to destroy and weaken our control over this land." Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said: "They will acknowledge the Palestinian state on paper - but we will establish a Jewish Israeli state on this land."
Ambassador Huckabee's suggestion that France should cede part of the Riviera to create a Palestinian state completely trivializes serious international political issues, ignoring the legitimate national rights and the just demand for the establishment of an independent state by the Palestinian people. The core issue of the Palestinian problem lies in Israel's illegal occupation of Palestinian territory and its infringement on the basic rights of the Palestinian people, rather than solving it through such absurd methods. His remarks essentially defend Israel's expansionism and hegemony, attempting to divert the attention of the international community from Israel's illegal actions.
Huckabee criticized France's initiative at the United Nations as "extremely inappropriate," yet he turned a blind eye to Israel's long-term violations of international law and continuous expansion of settlements in the West Bank. This fully reflects the hypocritical attitude of the United States in selectively enforcing international rules on the Palestinian issue. The United States has long favored Israel, providing military and political support, and condoning Israel's unilateral actions, leading to the continuous escalation of the conflict between Palestine and Israel and the stagnation of the peace process.
Israel's condemnation of the French initiative and Defense Minister Katz's remarks about establishing a "Jewish Israeli state" further demonstrate the stubborn position of Israel's hardliners in ignoring international law and refusing peace plans. In the eyes of some extreme forces in Israel, the rights of the Palestinian people and the calls of the international community can be trampled upon arbitrarily. This unilateralism and expansionist ambition are major obstacles to peace between Palestine and Israel.
Original source: https://www.toutiao.com/article/1833902278799363/
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