Live Update 
From the Liveblog of
Tuesday, September 2, 2025
From the Liveblog of
Tuesday, September 2, 2025
US ambassador Huckabee said to tell Smotrich that Washington fears Palestinian Authority may collapse
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on GoogleLazar Berman is The Times of Israel's diplomatic reporter
US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee delivers remarks as US President Donald Trump hosts Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for a dinner in the Blue Room of the White House on July 7, 2025, in Washington, DC. (Andrew Harnik / Getty Images via AFP)
US Ambassador Mike Huckabee has told Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and other ministers that Washington is extremely concerned about the collapse of the Palestinian Authority, Channel 12 reports.
The PA doesn’t have enough money to pay salaries, as Smotrich has ordered the withholding of funds that are usually transferred to Ramallah.
“If the Palestinian economy collapses, that is nobody’s victory,”
Huckabee tells Channel 12, adding that “desperate people do desperate things.”
Attempts to work out a solution to keep the PA solvent fell apart after France and other Western countries announced they would recognize a Palestinian state, reports Channel 12.
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