US has 'deep doubts' about Palestinian state: US ambassador

The US ambassador to Israel has told Bloomberg that the US no longer wholeheartedly endorses an independent state for Palestinians.

“Unless there are some significant things that happen that change the culture, there’s no room for it,” Mike Huckabee told Bloomberg in Jerusalem, adding that a Palestinian state won't happen "in our lifetime".

He further said that a Palestinian state wouldn't necessarily need to be based in the occupied West Bank. 

"Does it have to be in Judea and Samaria?” Huckabee, said, using the biblical name the Israeli government uses to refer to the West Bank.

Huckabee's comments come days after France and the UK abandoned previous plans to recognise a Palestinian state at an upcoming conference.

France had been lobbying the UK and other European allies to recognise a Palestinian state at the conference in New York, due to be held between 17 and 20 June.