Huckabee suggests Muslim countries should give up land for Palestinian state

The US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee has suggested Muslim countries should give up some of their land to create a future Palestinian state.

In an interview with the BBC, Huckabee said Muslim countries have "644 times" more land than Israel.

"So maybe, if there is such a desire for the Palestinian state, there would be someone who would say, we'd like to host it," he said.

In a separate interview with Bloomberg, Huckabee said the US was no longer pursuing the goal of an independent Palestinian state. State Department spokeswoman Tammy Bruce later said the president was responsible for US policy in the Middle East, adding the ambassador "speaks for himself".

The ambassador also called a two-state solution "an aspirational goal". Later this month at the United Nations in New York, French and Saudi diplomats will host a conference aimed at laying out a roadmap for an eventual Palestinian state.