U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said France’s move to recognize a Palestinian state directly contributed to the collapse of ceasefire and hostage-release negotiations between Israel and Hamas, warning that such decisions reward terrorism and make peace harder to achieve.

In an interview with the Catholic Eternal Word Television Network, Rubio said the talks “fell apart” the same day French President Emmanuel Macron announced Paris would unilaterally recognize Palestinian statehood.

“And then you have other people come forward, other countries say, ‘well, if there is not a ceasefire by September, we’re going to recognize a Palestinian state,’” Rubio said. “If I’m Hamas, I’d basically conclude: let’s not do a ceasefire — we can be rewarded, we can claim it as a victory.”

Rubio argued that while such announcements may be “largely symbolic” for foreign governments, they send the wrong message to the terror group, stiffening its resolve and undercutting efforts to secure the release of Israeli hostages.

“So those messages… actually have made it harder to get peace and harder to achieve a deal with Hamas,” Rubio said.

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