White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt suggested that President Donald Trump may symbolically recognize a sovereign Palestinian state, depending on the results of peace talks between Israel, Hamas, and third-party nations.
Last Friday, Hamas agreed to the hostage exchange proposed by Trump alongside Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu earlier in the week, but the terrorist group expressed significant concerns about other parts of Trump’s plan, specifically calls for Hamas and the Palestinian Authority to hand over power in Gaza to a transitional technocratic government.
Leavitt faced a number of questions about Gaza during her Monday briefing with reporters, including whether that hypothetical transition of power in Gaza could reverse U.S. policy on Palestinian statehood. Australia, Canada, France, and the United Kingdom all recognized a sovereign Palestinian state in recent weeks.
“I don’t want to get ahead of the technical talks right now,” she responded, referencing Monday’s talks in Egypt. “They’re extremely sensitive. They’re taking place again as we speak, and there’s many things to discuss.”
Leavitt reiterated that the president’s team is “working very hard to get there.”
Though Leavitt’s comments fall short of a full endorsement, they mark a significant departure from Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s quotes on the subject from Sunday.
Rubio said during a Sunday interview on CBS that Palestinian statehood is “not even possible.”
“That’s not even a realistic thing right now,” he stated. “Who would govern that Palestinian state, Hamas?”
Leavitt herself harshly condemned France’s decision to recognize a Palestinian state during the United Nations General Assembly last month, telling reporters that Trump “has been very clear” that the symbolic gesture “does not do anything to release the hostages.”
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“He believes these decisions are just more talk and not enough action from some of our friends and allies,” she added, claiming that recognizing Palestinian statehood would “reward” Hamas.
Leavitt’s comments from Monday can be seen in full below.
