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| Israel’s Netanyahu Reopens Door to Palestinian State, but White House Is Unimpressed | Israel’s Netanyahu Reopens Door to Palestinian State, but White House Is Unimpressed |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| JERUSALEM — Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel on Thursday tried to walk back his pre-election declaration that no Palestinian state would be established on his watch, but his new assertions appeared to do nothing to assuage an infuriated Obama administration. | JERUSALEM — Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel on Thursday tried to walk back his pre-election declaration that no Palestinian state would be established on his watch, but his new assertions appeared to do nothing to assuage an infuriated Obama administration. |
| In an interview on MSNBC, Mr. Netanyahu also said he had not been trying to suppress the votes of Arab citizens with an Election Day video warning that they were heading to polling stations in large numbers. | In an interview on MSNBC, Mr. Netanyahu also said he had not been trying to suppress the votes of Arab citizens with an Election Day video warning that they were heading to polling stations in large numbers. |
| Mr. Netanyahu said that he still wanted “a sustainable, peaceful two-state solution” to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and that he had not intended to reverse the position he took endorsing that in a 2009 speech at Bar-Ilan University. “I haven’t changed my policy,” he said in the interview, his first since his resounding victory on Tuesday, which handed him a fourth term. “What has changed is the reality.” | Mr. Netanyahu said that he still wanted “a sustainable, peaceful two-state solution” to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and that he had not intended to reverse the position he took endorsing that in a 2009 speech at Bar-Ilan University. “I haven’t changed my policy,” he said in the interview, his first since his resounding victory on Tuesday, which handed him a fourth term. “What has changed is the reality.” |
| Despite this rhetorical reversal, Mr. Netanyahu did not say he was ready to return to negotiations or present any new ideas for achieving peace. He reiterated longstanding positions that the Palestinian leadership’s refusal to recognize Israel as a Jewish state, and its pact with the militant Islamist Hamas movement, made an agreement impossible right now. | Despite this rhetorical reversal, Mr. Netanyahu did not say he was ready to return to negotiations or present any new ideas for achieving peace. He reiterated longstanding positions that the Palestinian leadership’s refusal to recognize Israel as a Jewish state, and its pact with the militant Islamist Hamas movement, made an agreement impossible right now. |
| “I don’t want a one-state solution; I want a sustainable, peaceful two-state solution, but for that, circumstances have to change,” he said. “I was talking about what is achievable and what is not achievable. To make it achievable, then you have to have real negotiations with people who are committed to peace.” | “I don’t want a one-state solution; I want a sustainable, peaceful two-state solution, but for that, circumstances have to change,” he said. “I was talking about what is achievable and what is not achievable. To make it achievable, then you have to have real negotiations with people who are committed to peace.” |
| The White House and European leaders had expressed alarm over Mr. Netanyahu’s pre-election statement, on the eve of what had seemed like a close race, that there would never be a Palestinian state as long as he remained in office. | The White House and European leaders had expressed alarm over Mr. Netanyahu’s pre-election statement, on the eve of what had seemed like a close race, that there would never be a Palestinian state as long as he remained in office. |
| Obama administration officials said Wednesday that in light of that statement, they would consider supporting a United Nations Security Council resolution calling for the establishment of a sovereign Palestine roughly along the pre-1967 lines that divided Israel from the West Bank and Gaza. | Obama administration officials said Wednesday that in light of that statement, they would consider supporting a United Nations Security Council resolution calling for the establishment of a sovereign Palestine roughly along the pre-1967 lines that divided Israel from the West Bank and Gaza. |
| On Thursday, the White House all but ignored Mr. Netanyahu’s new comments, focusing instead on what he had said before the vote. | On Thursday, the White House all but ignored Mr. Netanyahu’s new comments, focusing instead on what he had said before the vote. |
| “It means that the United States is in a position to re-evaluate our thinking,” the White House press secretary, Josh Earnest, said, adding that Mr. Netanyahu’s comments backing away from support for a two-state solution “do have consequences for actions that we take at the United Nations and other places.” | “It means that the United States is in a position to re-evaluate our thinking,” the White House press secretary, Josh Earnest, said, adding that Mr. Netanyahu’s comments backing away from support for a two-state solution “do have consequences for actions that we take at the United Nations and other places.” |
| Washington has long questioned Mr. Netanyahu’s commitment to a two-state solution and his seriousness about negotiations toward that outcome, like the talks led by Secretary of State John Kerry that collapsed last spring. | Washington has long questioned Mr. Netanyahu’s commitment to a two-state solution and his seriousness about negotiations toward that outcome, like the talks led by Secretary of State John Kerry that collapsed last spring. |
| Those suspicions seemed confirmed on Monday when Mr. Netanyahu answered “correct” after being asked directly in a video interview with a right-leaning Israeli news site, “If you are prime minister, a Palestinian state will not be established?” | Those suspicions seemed confirmed on Monday when Mr. Netanyahu answered “correct” after being asked directly in a video interview with a right-leaning Israeli news site, “If you are prime minister, a Palestinian state will not be established?” |
| “I think that anyone who is going to establish a Palestinian state today and evacuate lands is giving attack grounds to the radical Islam against the State of Israel,” Mr. Netanyahu told the news site, NRG. “Anyone who ignores this is sticking his head in the sand.” | “I think that anyone who is going to establish a Palestinian state today and evacuate lands is giving attack grounds to the radical Islam against the State of Israel,” Mr. Netanyahu told the news site, NRG. “Anyone who ignores this is sticking his head in the sand.” |
| Many Israeli analysts saw this as a blatant, somewhat desperate appeal to take votes from parties on his right flank that support unfettered construction in West Bank settlements — which is exactly what happened — and fully expected Mr. Netanyahu to backtrack after the ballots were tallied. | Many Israeli analysts saw this as a blatant, somewhat desperate appeal to take votes from parties on his right flank that support unfettered construction in West Bank settlements — which is exactly what happened — and fully expected Mr. Netanyahu to backtrack after the ballots were tallied. |
| He made his 2009 speech embracing the concept of two states for two peoples shortly after a campaign in which he did not support it. These kinds of reversals are relatively common in Israel. | He made his 2009 speech embracing the concept of two states for two peoples shortly after a campaign in which he did not support it. These kinds of reversals are relatively common in Israel. |
| Earlier on Thursday, President Mahmoud Abbas of the Palestinian Authority had seized on Mr. Netanyahu’s original repudiation of a two-state solution to say he would continue his unilateral strategy of seeking full United Nations recognition and using the International Criminal Court to press war-crimes charges against Israelis. | Earlier on Thursday, President Mahmoud Abbas of the Palestinian Authority had seized on Mr. Netanyahu’s original repudiation of a two-state solution to say he would continue his unilateral strategy of seeking full United Nations recognition and using the International Criminal Court to press war-crimes charges against Israelis. |
| “If these things are true, it means that the Israeli government has no serious intentions to reach a peace agreement that will create two states based on the 1967 borders,” Mr. Abbas said at a meeting of the Palestine Liberation Organization’s executive committee in the West Bank city of Ramallah. “We therefore will not retreat from our position to apply international law, and so it is our right to go anywhere in the world to realize our rights according to international law.” | “If these things are true, it means that the Israeli government has no serious intentions to reach a peace agreement that will create two states based on the 1967 borders,” Mr. Abbas said at a meeting of the Palestine Liberation Organization’s executive committee in the West Bank city of Ramallah. “We therefore will not retreat from our position to apply international law, and so it is our right to go anywhere in the world to realize our rights according to international law.” |
| The executive committee also denounced Mr. Netanyahu’s expression of alarm in a video on Tuesday about Arab citizens’ voting “in droves.” A White House spokesman on Wednesday called it “deeply concerning,” “divisive” and an attempt to “marginalize Arab citizens.” | The executive committee also denounced Mr. Netanyahu’s expression of alarm in a video on Tuesday about Arab citizens’ voting “in droves.” A White House spokesman on Wednesday called it “deeply concerning,” “divisive” and an attempt to “marginalize Arab citizens.” |
| In the interview on Thursday, with MSNBC’s Andrea Mitchell, Mr. Netanyahu also sought to explain those statements and repair the damage, saying, “I’m very proud to be prime minister of all of Israel’s citizens, Arabs and Jews alike.” | In the interview on Thursday, with MSNBC’s Andrea Mitchell, Mr. Netanyahu also sought to explain those statements and repair the damage, saying, “I’m very proud to be prime minister of all of Israel’s citizens, Arabs and Jews alike.” |
| He said his concern had been a “massive foreign-funded effort” to bus Arabs to polling places in order to oust him from office. | He said his concern had been a “massive foreign-funded effort” to bus Arabs to polling places in order to oust him from office. |
| “I wasn’t trying to suppress a vote,” he said. “I was trying to get something to counter a foreign-funded effort to get votes that are intended to topple my party, and I was calling on our voters to come out.” | “I wasn’t trying to suppress a vote,” he said. “I was trying to get something to counter a foreign-funded effort to get votes that are intended to topple my party, and I was calling on our voters to come out.” |
| Mr. Netanyahu added that he was proud that his Likud Party had won some votes in Arab towns. “I’m very proud of the fact that Israel is the one country in a very broad radius in which Arabs have free and fair elections. That’s sacrosanct,” he said. “That will never change.” | Mr. Netanyahu added that he was proud that his Likud Party had won some votes in Arab towns. “I’m very proud of the fact that Israel is the one country in a very broad radius in which Arabs have free and fair elections. That’s sacrosanct,” he said. “That will never change.” |
| Saeb Erekat, the chief Palestinian negotiator, on Thursday denounced the Election Day video about Arabs’ being bused to polling places, echoing the outrage expressed by Arab-Israeli lawmakers, American Jewish leaders and European officials in the last three days. | Saeb Erekat, the chief Palestinian negotiator, on Thursday denounced the Election Day video about Arabs’ being bused to polling places, echoing the outrage expressed by Arab-Israeli lawmakers, American Jewish leaders and European officials in the last three days. |
| “Today’s magic in Israel is how to export fear,” Mr. Erekat told reporters at a briefing in East Jerusalem. “Arabs are busing! Imagine if somebody stands in the French elections and says, ‘Jews are busing!’ Where are we living? This is happening in 2015!” | “Today’s magic in Israel is how to export fear,” Mr. Erekat told reporters at a briefing in East Jerusalem. “Arabs are busing! Imagine if somebody stands in the French elections and says, ‘Jews are busing!’ Where are we living? This is happening in 2015!” |
| Mr. Netanyahu’s video was among a series of hard-line statements he made in an end-of-campaign blitz after polls showed Likud trailing its center-left challenger. Several Israeli commentators wryly observed that the prime minister had done more interviews in six days than in the previous six years. | Mr. Netanyahu’s video was among a series of hard-line statements he made in an end-of-campaign blitz after polls showed Likud trailing its center-left challenger. Several Israeli commentators wryly observed that the prime minister had done more interviews in six days than in the previous six years. |
| On Thursday, he moved from Israeli outlets to international ones. He was scheduled to appear on Fox News in the evening and on Friday’s “Morning Edition” program on NPR. | On Thursday, he moved from Israeli outlets to international ones. He was scheduled to appear on Fox News in the evening and on Friday’s “Morning Edition” program on NPR. |
| Mr. Netanyahu’s office did not respond to interview requests from The New York Times in the days leading up to Tuesday’s election, or on Wednesday or Thursday. | Mr. Netanyahu’s office did not respond to interview requests from The New York Times in the days leading up to Tuesday’s election, or on Wednesday or Thursday. |
| In Washington, Mr. Earnest suggested that Mr. Netanyahu’s MSNBC remarks had done nothing to ease the administration’s concern. | In Washington, Mr. Earnest suggested that Mr. Netanyahu’s MSNBC remarks had done nothing to ease the administration’s concern. |
| Mr. Earnest said he was “not suggesting that any policy decisions have been made at this point.” But he maintained that Mr. Netanyahu’s comments before the election demonstrated that the Israeli government was “no longer committed to a two-state solution,” regardless of what the prime minister said later in television interviews. | Mr. Earnest said he was “not suggesting that any policy decisions have been made at this point.” But he maintained that Mr. Netanyahu’s comments before the election demonstrated that the Israeli government was “no longer committed to a two-state solution,” regardless of what the prime minister said later in television interviews. |
| White House officials noted that a two-state solution has been supported by Republican and Democratic presidents and by members of both parties in Congress, most recently in a unanimous House resolution late last year. | White House officials noted that a two-state solution has been supported by Republican and Democratic presidents and by members of both parties in Congress, most recently in a unanimous House resolution late last year. |
| “So this is not a situation where the prime minister is creating some daylight between himself and President Obama,” Mr. Earnest said. “It’s creating some daylight between Democrat and Republican presidents in the United States and every single member of the House of Representatives.” | |
| Mr. Earnest said the president was likely to call Mr. Netanyahu later on Thursday to congratulate him on his victory. But he did not rule out the likelihood that Mr. Obama would use the opportunity to chide the prime minister on what Mr. Earnest called “cynical election-year tactics” aimed at marginalizing Arab voters. | Mr. Earnest said the president was likely to call Mr. Netanyahu later on Thursday to congratulate him on his victory. But he did not rule out the likelihood that Mr. Obama would use the opportunity to chide the prime minister on what Mr. Earnest called “cynical election-year tactics” aimed at marginalizing Arab voters. |