Secretary of State Marco Rubio has sharply criticized international efforts to unilaterally recognize a Palestinian state, dismissing recent moves by key US allies including Canada, France, and the United Kingdom as counterproductive and ultimately meaningless.

In a Fox News interview, Rubio challenged the 140 heads of state who have threatened to recognize or already recognized Palestinian statehood, arguing they “can’t even tell you where this Palestinian state is” or “who will govern it.” The Secretary emphasized that such recognition efforts are fundamentally flawed because “none of these countries has the ability to create a Palestinian state.”

Central to Rubio’s argument is the principle that sustainable statehood must emerge through negotiated agreement rather than unilateral declaration. “There can be no Palestinian state unless Israel agrees to it,” Rubio stated, reflecting longstanding US policy that echoes commitments made under the Oslo Accords framework.

The Oslo Accords, signed in the 1990s, established the principle that final status issues—including Palestinian statehood—must be resolved through direct negotiations between Israelis and Palestinians. This framework requires that any Palestinian state emerge as the result of a negotiated settlement rather than through unilateral recognition by third parties.

Rubio expressed particular concern that international recognition efforts are emboldening Hamas and undermining ceasefire negotiations. He argued that the terror group views the international support as validation of their strategy.

“At the end of the day, Hamas is sitting there saying: We’re winning the PR war. We’ve got all these countries lining up on our side of this argument. We’ve got leverage now,” Rubio explained. He warned that this dynamic gives Hamas incentive to reject ceasefire agreements, knowing that Palestinian statehood recognition will proceed regardless in September.

The Secretary characterized the situation as rewarding terrorism, noting that “the Hamas side is the Palestinian statehood side” and arguing that recognition would serve as a reward for the terror group’s actions.

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