US Says Hamas ‘Walked Away’ From Gaza Talks After Albanese’s Palestine Pledge

US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee also said Australian hopes of cooperating with the Palestinian Authority were unfounded.

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U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee says the White House has expressed a strong level of disappointment towards Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s official pledge to recognise a Palestinian state.

Huckabee says all nations that have declared support for a Palestinian state have done so at the wrong time.

In Albanese’s case, he previously vowed to wait for assurances that terror group Hamas would not be involved in a future Palestinian government.

“The U.S. is disappointed that nations like Australia, the UK and others have decided to pick this particular time to unilaterally recognise a second state,” he told the ABC’s 7.30 program on the evening of Aug. 14.

“The timing has been very hurtful to any prospects of negotiating some settlement in Gaza with Hamas, they basically walked away.

“This is a gift to them and it’s unfortunate and it also is a violation of the agreement that was done in Oslo that any type of recognition of a Palestinian state would involve the Israelis, this clearly does not and I would say it’s unfortunate but it’s also very disappointing to the U.S.”

Huckabee described the U.S. President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio having an “enormous level of disappointment and some disgust” toward Australia’s decision.

“You’ve perhaps heard Secretary Rubio’s interview this past weekend and he made it very clear that the result of this has been to completely halt any type of thoughtful negotiations going forward and it’s just a very terrible timing for this to come about,” he said.

No Communication on Decision Beforehand

Huckabee said there had been no communication from Australia with the United States about the decision either.

“As Israel’s closest partner we would have expected that there would have been some heads-up, there wasn’t, this was done unilaterally, that was a disappointment,” he said, drawing comparisons with how the UK leader had also not communicated with the U.S.

UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer had announced support for a Palestinian state just two hours after President Trump completed his state visit and left the country.

Huckabee said by interrupting negotiations, Australia and other countries who have recently moved to recognise a Palestinian state—like France and Canada—would end up pushing Israel into prolonging its war with Hamas.

“Australia and other countries will inadvertently push Israel to doing exactly what they’re afraid of.”

No Hope for Palestinian Authority Either

During the Australian announcement, Albanese said a two-state solution was the best way to “break the cycle of violence.”

“Australia’s position is predicated on the commitments we have received from the Palestinian Authority.

“We will continue to work with the international community to hold the Palestinian Authority to its commitments and to encourage normalised relations between Israel and its neighbours.”

He also criticised Hamas.

“Hamas must release the hostages cruelly taken on October 7, 2023 immediately, unconditionally and with dignity. The Australian government has consistently made clear there can be no role for Hamas in a Palestinian state.”

Yet, his government’s move appeared to receive the endorsement of Hamas with the office of co-founder Hassan Yousef welcoming the decision.

“This position reflects political courage and a commitment to the values of justice and the right of peoples to self-determination,” his office said.

Meanwhile, Huckabee said even forming government with the Palestinian Authority (PA), considered less extreme than Hamas, could pose a challenge.

“[Leader Mahmoud] Abbas, he said in Arabic that if there’s even one penny left in the treasury, that penny will go to the martyrs,” he said.

“So whatever he may say in one language to sound as if he is appeasing, the truth is he has not given up on that policy, it’s still going on.”