U.S. 'to Reevaluate' Israel U.N. Backing, Netanyahu Denies Abandoning 2-State Solution
The White House on Thursday raised the prospect of withdrawing crucial diplomatic cover for Israel at the United Nations, following Benjamin Netanyahu's divisive election victory.
Angered by Netanyahu's shock campaign pledge to block the creation of a Palestinian state, the White House warned the foundation of its policy for backing Israel had been undermined.
The United States -- a veto-wielding member of the U.N. Security Council – has frequently opposed moves at the U.N. to recognize a Palestinian state.
"Steps that the United States has taken at the United Nations had been predicated on this idea that the two-state solution is the best outcome, said spokesman Josh Earnest.
"Now our ally in these talks has said that they are no longer committed to that solution. That means we need to reevaluate our position in this matter, and that is what we will do moving forward."
Palestinian chief negotiator Saeb Erakat told Agence France-Presse in the wake of Tuesday's vote that they would "speed up, pursue and intensify" diplomatic efforts aimed at winning international recognition
The White House said that no policy decisions had yet been made, but sharply noted that U.S. decisions in the past had "protected Israel from isolation in the international community."
The White House also gave short shrift to Netanyahu's efforts to walk back his remarks in a series of U.S. television interviews Thursday.
"What is apparent is that in the context of the campaign, and while he was the sitting prime minister of Israel, he walked back from commitments that Israel had previously made to a two-state solution," Earnest said.
President Obama, who has yet to call Netanyahu to congratulate him, already had cool relations with his Israeli counterpart even before his remarks about Palestine.
Washington has been frustrated by Netanyahu's support for settlement building and a speech to the U.S. Congress aimed at killing a nascent nuclear deal with Iran, which Obama supports.
The White House said Obama could call Netanyahu as soon as today.
Earlier on Thursday, Netanyahu denied making a U-turn by saying he would never agree to the creation of a Palestinian state, arguing that the conditions were not yet ripe.
Holding out an olive branch to the United States, the veteran politician insisted the Palestinian Authority had to cut its ties with Hamas militants, recognize the existence of a Jewish state and engage in "genuine" peace talks with Israel.
Taking to the U.S. airwaves, he emphatically denied going back on a long commitment to seeking a Palestinian state living side-by-side with Israel in comments made in the last days of the election campaign.
"I didn't retract any of the things I said in my speech six years ago, calling for a solution in which a demilitarized Palestinian state recognizes a Jewish state. I said that the conditions for that, today, are not achievable," Netanyahu told Fox News channel's "The Kelly File."
Netanyahu accused Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas of rejecting "the acceptance of a Jewish state. He's made a pact with the Palestinian terrorist organization, Hamas, that calls for our destruction."
The Israeli leader also pointed to turmoil in the region unleashed in the wake of the Arab Spring, claiming that meant militants from the Islamic State group were only dozens of miles from Israel's borders.
Speaking with NBC television, Netanyahu insisted he was "proud to be the prime minister of all Israeli citizens, Arabs and Jews alike" after triggering outrage for warning supporters that Israeli Arabs were "turning out in droves" to the polls.
He suggested to NBC that he remained open to the possibility of new peace talks, saying: "I was talking about what is achievable and what is not achievable."
Israel would "need the recognition of (a) Jewish state and real security in order to have a realistic two-state solution."
But he insisted that to make that happen, "you have to have real negotiations with people committed to peace ... it's time we saw the pressure on the Palestinians to show that they are committed too."
Iran, which backs Hamas in the Gaza Strip, was ready to start pouring arms into the West Bank run by the Palestinian Authority, Netanyahu claimed.
- 'You can't impose peace' -
"We withdrew from Gaza, we got thousands of rockets on our heads. (We) don't want it to happen again. I think the administration has said time and time again, the only way to achieve peace is a negotiated solution -- you can't impose peace," he told NBC News.
"If you want to get peace, you've got to get the Palestinian leadership to abandon their pact with Hamas and engage in genuine negotiations with Israel for an achievable peace."
The Israeli leader also maintained that his controversial anti-Arab comments on a Facebook page aimed at drumming up support at the ballot box were an attempt "to counter a foreign-funded effort to get votes that are intended to topple my party."
Some outside groups had vowed to "try to get out votes for a specific party, an amalgamation of Islamists and other groups," Netanyahu said, without giving any details, insisting he was not "trying to suppress a vote."
The White House on Wednesday had chastised Netanyahu for his remarks, saying such rhetoric "seeks to marginalize Arab-Israeli citizens."
Turning to the Iranian issue, Netanyahu suggested his country might accept Iran having a small number of centrifuges, but insisted world powers could strike a better nuclear deal with Tehran than one now under negotiation.
"I think you can get a better deal. The one I would have is to reduce Iran's nuclear capabilities so you increase the breakout time," the Israeli leader told NBC.
"I mean, if I had a vote on that negotiating team, I would say zero centrifuges," he said, when asked about reports that the Islamic Republic might be left with about 6,000 centrifuges.
The highly sophisticated machines spin uranium gas at supersonic speeds to make it suitable for power generation as well as for use at high purities for an atomic bomb.
Iran currently has about 19,000 centrifuges, of which just over 10,000 are operational, and Netanyahu has repeatedly called for Iran's entire nuclear capability to be dismantled,
Pressed by NBC on whether he would accept some centrifuges, Netanyahu replied: "I would say that a smaller number would be something that Israel and its Arab neighbors wouldn't love, but could live with."
"The most important thing is that the lifting of restrictions on Iran's nuclear program would depend on Iran's change of behavior. That it would stop supporting terrorism, stop its aggression against just about every country in the region, and stop calling and threatening the annihilation of Israel."
Press reports earlier Thursday had indicated that a draft document was already being circulated in the talks in Switzerland between Iran and six major powers, which would leave Tehran with about 6,000 centrifuges.
But U.S. officials shot down the report. Deputy Secretary of State Tony Blinken told lawmakers: "My understanding is that there is no draft, that that report is erroneous."
Iran and the United States, China, Russia, Britain, France and Germany are in talks to try to agree by March 31 on the outlines of a potentially historic deal and finalize it by the end of June.
Netanyahu had angered the U.S. administration by giving a passionate speech earlier this month to Congress, blasting the deal under negotiation.
Despite sharp criticism from the administration, he told NBC that he had had "very good feedback" from both Democrats and Republicans to his speech as well as from around the world, including Arab countries.
Source: Agence France Presse
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