The US State Department is reportedly exploring the possibility of recognizing a Palestinian state following the end of the Gaza war, which would be a major shift in American policy, although its spokesman downplayed the significance of any such discussion on Wednesday.

According to the report in Axios, which cites two US officials, Secretary of State Antony Blinken asked the State Department to review the policy options available to the US on the issue and present them for discussion.

Asked about the report during a press briefing on Wednesday, State Department spokesman Matt Miller confirmed that the administration is “actively pursuing the establishment of an independent Palestinian state – with real security guarantees for Israel, because we do believe that is the best way to bring about lasting peace and security for Israel, for Palestinians, and for the region.”

But he also stressed that this “has been the longstanding position of the United States” and did not represent a shift in policy.

“There has been no policy shift in the administration. We have made quite clear publicly that we support the establishment of an independent Palestinian state. That has been the policy of the United States for some time. It has been the policy of this administration.”

“There are any number of sequencing of events that you could carry out to accomplish that objective,” Miller added. “And we look at a wide range of options, and we discuss those with partners in the region, as well as other partners inside the United States Government, but there has been no policy change.

He made clear that recognizing a Palestinian state has long been among the options weighed by successive administrations, even though none of them has taken that step. “We look at any number of options. That’s part of the normal planning process. The vast majority of options never usually get implemented,” Miller said.

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