(20 Aug 2025)
RESTRICTION SUMMARY:
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Jerusalem – 20 August 2025
1. Wide of U.S. Ambassador in Israel Mike Huckabee
2. SOUNDBITE (English) Mike Huckabee:
++PART COVERED/INCLUDES CHANGE OF SHOT++
"I do think that without any question, the noise that has been made by European leaders recently – this conference in New York – is having the counterproductive effect that they probably think that they want. If they believe that, unilaterally, calling for a two-state a Palestinian state recognition immediately brings them closer, the sad truth is it’s taking them further away. I think some of the actions that you’re seeing, whether it’s E1 or talk about declaring sovereignty or annexation, have been prompted by what is clearly a violation of the Oslo Accords. Where there would be a declaration of a Palestinian state without the involvement of the Israelis."
3. Wide of Huckabee sitting down
4. Close-up of hands
5. Wide of interview
STORYLINE:
U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee sought Wednesday to blame a recent breakdown in Gaza ceasefire talks on the decision by some European leaders to recognize Palestinian statehood.
Talks over a lasting ceasefire have repeatedly stalled since the early months of the war sparked by Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack — and long before there was any talk of major European states recognizing Palestinian statehood.
The decisions were announced by France, Britain and other countries after the Trump administration’s Mideast envoy had already walked away in frustration from the negotiations, which happened behind closed doors. It’s unclear how and when they began to break down.
But Huckabee’s remarks in an interview with The Associated Press point to a sharp divide among Western nations about how to approach the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and the rift has only deepened since President Donald Trump took office.
Many European countries have sought to pressure Israel — the stronger party — and frame the pursuit of a two-state solution as a way to address the root causes of a conflict that long predates the war in Gaza. But the Trump administration has given Israel wide latitude to end the war on its terms.
The White House fully supported Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s decision to end an earlier ceasefire that Trump had helped broker and resume wide-ranging military operations, during which Israel prevented food, medicine and other goods from entering Gaza for more than two months.
Trump appears to have adopted Israel’s position that further military pressure — including a planned offensive into some of the most densely populated areas of Gaza — will force Hamas to surrender.
“We will only see the return of the remaining hostages when Hamas is confronted and destroyed!!!” Trump posted this week on his Truth Social site.
Meanwhile, France, Britain and more than two dozen other Western-aligned nations have expressed mounting outrage at Israel’s actions, demanding that it halt the fighting and do more to facilitate humanitarian aid.
The moves to recognize Palestinian statehood — which were largely symbolic — were in part aimed at pressuring Israel to halt its offensive.
Britain explicitly linked the two, saying it would hold off on recognizing a Palestinian state if Israel agreed to a ceasefire in Gaza, stopped building settlements in the West Bank and committed to a two-state solution.
Huckabee, who is himself a longtime opponent of Palestinian statehood, said the “noise that has been made by European leaders recently … is having the counterproductive effect that they probably think that they want."
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