WASHINGTON
The Israeli prime minister’s recent comments that he would not permit a Palestine state to exist will affect U.S. support for Israel in international forums, a U.S. official said Thursday.
"The United States is in a position to reevaluate our thinking," said White House press secretary Josh Earnest, while adding that Benjamin Netanyahu’s comments would have "some consequences on our decisions at the UN and other places."
Three days before Israel’s elections on Tuesday, Netanyahu, asserted that he would not allow the creation of a Palestinian state if he were to win.
But while speaking to a U.S. national news outlet on Thursday, the prime minister backtracked on those comments and said, "I want a sustainable, peaceful two-state solution."
Netanyahu's retreat, however, did not seem to have satisfied the White House.
"He walked back from commitments that Israel had previously made to a two-state solution," Earnest said, while noting that he had read a transcript of the Israeli leader’s interview with NBC News.
The two-state solution served as the basis for U.S. decisions that have benefited Israel and that have protected Israel from isolation in the international community, Earnest said.
"This principle has been the foundation of a number of policy decisions that have been made here and now that foundation has been eroded," Earnest said, adding that Netanyahu's remarks would have "serious consequences for the country that he leads."
President Barack Obama also emphasized his commitment to a two-state solution when he called Netanyahu on Thursday afternoon to congratulate him on his Likud party’s success in winning a plurality of Knesset seats.
"The president reaffirmed the United States’ long-standing commitment to a two-state solution that results in a secure Israel alongside a sovereign and viable Palestine," according to a White House statement.
Earnest said the U.S. has repeatedly opposed the recognition of Palestine statehood at the UN because it believes the best way to solve the Israeli-Palestinian issue is to get the two parties to sit down at the negotiating table and resolve their differences so that this two-state solution could be realized.
Netanyahu's Likud Party won 30 of the Knesset's 120 seats, while its main rival, the center-left Zionist Union, won 24 seats, according to Israeli media.
Official election results are yet to be announced.
