The Trump administration says it boycotted a United Nations conference promoting the two-state solution on Monday, calling the event a “publicity stunt” and an “insult.”

“This week, the U.N. will serve as host to an unproductive and ill-timed conference on the two-state solution in New York City,” State Department spokeswoman Tammy Bruce said in a statement. “This is a publicity stunt that comes in the middle of delicate diplomatic efforts to end the conflict.”

Bruce said the conference will “prolong the war, embolden Hamas, and reward its obstruction and undermine real-world efforts to achieve peace.”

Instead of participating, Bruce said the United States will continue leading efforts to end the fighting and deliver a permanent peace.

“Our focus remains on serious diplomacy: not stage-managed conferences designed to manufacture the appearance of relevance,” she said.

The boycott comes after President Donald Trump drew attention to what he described as “real starvation” in Gaza.

.@POTUS on Gaza: “We’ll be helping with the food … We’re also going to make sure that they don’t have barriers stopping people … We can save a lot of people. That’s real starvation. I see it, and you can’t fake that.” pic.twitter.com/zcFiVYCxrE

— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) July 28, 2025

“We’ll be helping with the food,” Trump said. “We can save a lot of people. That’s real starvation. I see it, and you can’t fake that.”

Bruce also criticized French President Emmanuel Macron for announcing that France will formally recognize a Palestinian state this September during the United Nations General Assembly, claiming the move was “welcomed by Hamas.” She added that such announcements obstruct ceasefire negotiations and undercut diplomatic efforts to end the war in Gaza.

“As Secretary Rubio has made clear, this effort is a slap in the face to the victims of October 7th and a reward for terrorism,” she said. “It keeps hostages trapped in tunnels.”

Netanyahu fired back at Macron, claiming the announcement “rewards terror and risks creating another Iranian proxy, just as Gaza became.”

“A Palestinian state in these conditions would be a launch pad to annihilate Israel — not to live in peace beside it,” Netanyahu added. “Let’s be clear: the Palestinians do not seek a state alongside Israel; they seek a state instead of Israel.”

The conference, co-chaired by Saudi Arabia and France, was rescheduled from June to July due to Israel’s war with Iran, according to Jewish News Syndicate.

During the opening remarks, United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said that participants “must ensure that it does not become another exercise in well-meaning rhetoric.”

“The path to peace starts with recognizing the state of Palestine and preserving it from destruction,” Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Mustafa said. “The rights of all peoples must be respected, the sovereignty of all states must be ensured. Palestine, and its people can no longer be the exception.”

There has never been a Palestinian state. Prior to Israeli occupation, Judea and Samaria were occupied by Jordan, and Gaza by Egypt.

Israeli Minister of Finance Betzalel Smotrich said France’s announcement provides a “compelling reason” to apply Israeli sovereignty over Judea and Samaria.

“I thank President Macron for providing yet another compelling reason to finally apply Israeli sovereignty over the historic regions of Judea and Samaria, and to definitively abandon the failed concept of establishing a Palestinian terrorist state in the heart of the Land of Israel,” he wrote. “This will be our fitting Zionist response to the one-sided pressure and coercive measures led by President Macron and his allies.”

Last week, Israel’s Knesset voted in favor of a declaratory resolution in support of applying Israeli sovereignty to Judea, Samaria, and the Jordan Valley in a vote of 71-13.

“The Knesset affirms that the State of Israel has a natural, historical, and legal right to the entirety of the Land of Israel – the ancestral homeland of the Jewish people,” the resolution reads. “The Knesset calls upon the cabinet of Israel to act promptly to extend Israeli sovereignty, including law, jurisdiction, and administration, over all areas of Jewish communities, in all its forms, in Judea, Samaria, and the Jordan Valley.”

More than 500,000 Israelis live in Judea and Samaria.