Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Sunday that an independent Palestinian state is “not even a realistic thing right now.”

“It’s not even possible. That’s not even a realistic thing right now,” Rubio said on CBS’s Face the Nation. “Because who would govern that Palestinian state, Hamas?”

The Trump administration’s 20-point plan to end the war in Gaza includes a pathway to Palestinian statehood under the governance of a reformed Palestinian Authority (PA). Hamas is currently in control of Gaza, while the PA controls parts of the West Bank.

Last month, the governments of Canada, Australia, France and the United Kingdom formally recognized a Palestinian state, a symbolic gesture. Of the 193 United Nations countries, 157 recognize a Palestinian state.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netan

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