Rubio says a Palestinian state ‘not even a realistic thing right now’

Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Sunday that an independent Palestinian state is “not even a realistic thing right now.”

“It’s not even possible. That’s not even a realistic thing right now,” Rubio said on CBS’s “Face the Nation.” “Because who would govern that Palestinian state, Hamas?”

The Trump administration’s 20-point plan to end the war in Gaza includes a pathway to Palestinian statehood under the governance of a reformed Palestinian Authority (PA). Hamas is currently in control of Gaza, while the PA controls parts of the West Bank. 

Last month, the governments of Canada, Australia, France and the United Kingdom formally recognized a Palestinian state, a symbolic gesture. Of the 193 United Nations countries, 157 recognize a Palestinian state. 

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu opposes the measure, while President Trump said at the United Nations General Assembly last month that recognizing Palestinian statehood “rewards” Hamas. 

Rubio said Sunday that a group of Palestinian “technocrats” would govern Gaza, but only after the remaining 48 Israeli hostages — 28 of whom are deceased, 20 of whom are alive — are returned. 

On Friday, Hamas agreed to exchange the Israeli hostages for 250 Palestinian prisoners and 1,700 detainees from Gaza held by Israel, but it expressed uncertainty regarding other components of Trump’s peace deal, including its relinquishing power over the enclave.

The secretary of State noted that establishing a new government in Gaza will require assistance from Middle Eastern and European nations. However, with the conflict still ongoing, he said, “We are so far from that right now.”

“That’s going to take some time to build up, and it’s going to require a lot of work and a lot of international support, and that’s the end goal here of this entire endeavor, after you get the hostages out,” Rubio said.