Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s re-election appears set to further queer the pitch for America’s relationship with one of its closest allies — and the first indications came on Wednesday with the White House virtually denouncing Netanyahu’s “divisive” campaign rhetoric in which he rejected the creation of a Palestinian state to resolve the West Asian conflict.
In his first comments on Netanyahu’s re-election, White House spokesman Josh Earnest made it clear that Washington does not approve of the Israeli leader’s assertion that there would be no independent Palestinian state as long as he is Prime Minister.
“It has been the policy of the United States for more than 20 years that a two-state solution is the goal of resolving the conflict between the Israelis and the Palestinian people,” Earnest said. The idea of a democratic and Jewish state of Israel living side by side in peace and security with an independent and sovereign Palestinian state has been American policy under both Democratic and Republican Presidents, he said. “In the context of the recent election, Prime Minister Netanyahu indicated a change in his position,” Earnest said, underscoring that in the light of this change, Washington would re-evaluate its position and the path forward.
Analysts believe if Netanyahu refuses to come around, one option for the Obama administration could be to ease its opposition thus far to the idea of Palestinians approaching the UN Security Council for the creation of a new state.
The White House also came down hard on the pre-election comments from Netanyahu’s likud Party against Arab Israeli citizens, with Netanyahu himself writing on Facebook: “The right-wing Government is in danger. Arab voters are coming out in droves to the polls. left-wing organisations are busing them out.”
In a sharp reaction to this aspect, Earnest told reporters: “The United States and this administration is deeply concerned about rhetoric that seeks to marginalize Arab-Israeli citizens. It undermines the values and democratic ideals that have been important to our democracy and an important part of what binds the United States and Israel together.”
President Barack Obama left it to his Secretary of State John Kerry to formally congratulate Netanyahu on his victory. Obama himself would be calling him “in the coming days”, Earnest said, indicating the President would do so after Netanyahu is formally asked by the Israeli President to begin the process of forming the next coalition government.
At the State Department, spokesperson Jen Psaki echoed the view that a reevaluation could include shift of the American position hitherto, discouraging the Palestinian push for creation of a separate state through the United Nations process.