US to 're-assess' options after Netanyahu win

Obama congratulates Netanyahu on election win but reaffirmed US' long-standing commitment to a two-state solution

WASHINGTON: The White House on Thursday warned it may withdraw crucial diplomatic cover for Israel at the United Nations, even as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu backpedaled on a hard-line stance towards the creation of a Palestinian state.

Despite Netanyahu's backtracking over his campaign promise, skeptical American officials said the veteran Israeli leader would have to prove his commitment to negotiations for a two-state solution.

Responding to Netanyahu's last-minute campaign pledge not to allow a Palestinian state, White House spokesperson John Earnest said the Obama administration was re-evaluating its stance at the United Nations.

"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 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."

The United States -- a veto-wielding member of the UN Security Council -- has frequently opposed moves at the UN to recognise a Palestinian state, saying that must be part of a negotiated peace deal.

It has also shielded Israel from often Arab-led UN votes castigating the Jewish state for various actions, including alleged human rights abuses.

Several officials, speaking to the New York Times on condition of anonymity, said the Obama administration might agree to a UN Security Council resolution enshrining a two-state solution.

Asked whether the US would remove its diplomatic cover at the UN, a senior US official said that, while no decision has yet been made, "we haven't taken the option off the table."

Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas said it was clear a two-state solution would be impossible with a new government led by Netanyahu, who toughened his rhetoric in the final days of his campaign for re-election.

Obama has yet to call Netanyahu to congratulate him on his victory, but the Israeli leader emphatically denied setting himself in opposition to years of US policy by going back on his commitment to seeking a Palestinian state.

"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 recognises a Jewish state. I said that the conditions for that, today, are not achievable," Netanyahu told Fox News as he took to the US airwaves.

Israel would "need the recognition of (a) Jewish state and real security in order to have a realistic two-state solution," he told NBC News, in his first interview with US media since winning an unprecedented fourth term in Tuesday's elections.

But he insisted "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."

The Palestinians would also need to cut ties with Hamas militants running the Gaza Strip and engage in "genuine" peace talks, Netanyahu added.

Washington brokered nine months of negotiations between Netanyahu's last government and the Palestinians which collapsed late last year, amid continued Israeli settlement building and the Palestinians move to join international bodies.

"Netanyahu's statements against a two-state solution and against a Palestinian state... are proof, if correct, that there is no seriousness in the (future) Israeli government about a political solution," Abbas said.

The Palestinians would continue to push for legitimacy on the international stage, Abbas said. "It is our right to go to anywhere in the world to achieve international legitimacy," he said.

The Palestinians will formally join the International Criminal Court on April 1 and have vowed to seek action from the very first day for alleged Israeli war crimes during last year's conflict in the Gaza Strip.

Netanyahu's center-left challenger Isaac Herzog had campaigned on pledge to relaunch peace talks and mend ties with Washington.

Conceding defeat, Herzog quickly ruled out any participation in a unity government with Netanyahu, saying going into opposition was "the only realistic option."

Results released by the Central Elections Committee on Thursday confirmed Likud had taken 30 of the 120 seats in parliament to 24 for the Zionist Union.

Right wing and religious parties -- including the center-right Kulanu -- took 67 seats to 53 for the center-left and Arab parties.

The Joint Arab List made a strong showing, becoming the third-largest faction in parliament, with 13 seats.

Obama congratulates Netanyahu on election win

US President Barack Obama on Thursday called Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to congratulate him on his recent election win, after a campaign that soured relations between the two allies.

Obama spoke to the Israeli leader "to congratulate him on his party's success in winning a plurality of Knesset seats," the White House said.

"The president emphasised the importance the United States places on our close military, intelligence, and security cooperation with Israel, which reflects the deep and abiding partnership between both countries."

Obama waited two days before making the normally routine congratulatory call.

The White House said that during the conversation, Obama "reaffirmed the United States' long-standing commitment to a two-state solution that results in a secure Israel alongside a sovereign and viable Palestine."