Rubio: Recognition of Palestinian state by West is ‘largely meaningless’

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio says Western countries planning to recognize the State of Palestine next month are primarily motivated by the domestic politics in their respective countries.

In an interview with the conservative radio show” Sid & Friends In The Morning,” Rubio characterizes plans to recognize a Palestinian state as “largely meaningless.”

“It’s symbolic, and they’re doing it primarily for one reason, and that is their internal politics, their domestic politics,” Rubio says. “In the UK, in France, in many parts of Europe and Ireland, for a long time their domestic politics have turned anti-Israel or whatever it may be, and they’re getting a lot of domestic pressure to do something.”

“The truth of the matter is that the future of that region is not going to be decided by some UN resolution [or]… some press release by a prime minister or a president from some country…. It’s going to be decided… when Palestinian areas are not governed by terrorist organizations. Because that’s truly what this comes down to, and that is the security of Israel,” Rubio argues.

Rubio speaks of Palestinian areas in plural, appearing to lump Hamas with the Palestinian Authority, which has semi-autonomous control over parts of the West Bank.

Earlier this year, the PA announced a reform of its welfare system under which it would cease payments to the families of slain terrorists and security prisoners based on the length of their sentence. Ramallah invited Washington in June to send a delegation to certify that the reform is in place, but the US has yet to take up the offer.

Last week, Rubio argued that France’s decision to recognize a Palestinian state is what led the hostage talks to collapse.

Hamas submitted its response to the latest hostage deal proposal roughly 24 hours before French President Emmanuel Macron announced his decision to recognize a Palestinian state. The US announced its decision to recall its negotiators from Doha several hours before Macron’s announcement as well.