Netanyahu backs off Palestinian statehood comment
Netanyahu backs off Palestinian statehood comment, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday appeared to walk back an election promise that there would be no Palestinian state if he was re-elected.
"I don't want a one-state solution. I want a sustainable, peaceful two-state solution," Netanyahu said Thursday in an interview on MSNBC's Andrea Mitchell Reports. Portions of the interview will air on NBC Night News on Thursday.
Heading into his fourth term as prime minister, Netanyahu explained that he remains committed to Palestinian statehood. "I haven't changed my policy," he said, referring to a position he took in a 2009 speech.
Instead, the reality has changed and conditions in the region must improve before a two-state solution can move forward, he said. At issue are the Palestinian unity government with militant Hamas and the failure of Palestinian leadership to recognize a Jewish state, Netanyahu said.
"The conditions are not achievable" today, Netanyahu said in a separate interview set to air on FOX New's The Kelly File at 9 p.m. ET Thursday. "We have to change the terms ... because right now we have to get the Palestinians to go back to the negotiating table, break their pact with Hamas and accept the idea of a Jewish state."
Netanyahu had announced his opposition to a Palestinian state Monday and reiterated that pledge early Tuesday after casting his ballot in the nation's elections.
His Likud Party had been lagging in pre-election polls, but came out on top with 30 seats in the new Knesset, or parliament — six seats more than the opposition Zionist Union, led by Isaac Herzog.Netanyahu's reversal — at odds with past statements and much of the international community's support for a two-state solution — had marked another flash point with the Obama administration. The White House had been prodding Israel and Palestinians to make progress in peace talks on creation of an independent Palestinian state.
Despite Netanyahu's revised comments, White House spokesman Josh Earnest said Thursday that the Obama administration will continue to re-evaluate its approach on the issue. The president and his aides have not made any final decisions on a new approach or whether there will even be one, he added.
"I'm not suggesting that any policy decision has been made at this point," Earnest said.
Aides were arranging a phone call between President Obama and Netanyahu, perhaps as early as Thursday, he added.
Netanyahu, who spoke earlier this week with Secretary of State John Kerry, also told MSNBC he expects to hear from Obama soon, and he pledged to work with the president.
While "we have our differences on Iran" nuclear negotiations, Netanyahu said Israel has no choice but to work with Obama and the United States.
"We're allies," he said. "We have to consult each other, not have fiats or unilateral imposition, but negotiated peace with our neighbors and support between allies."
"I don't want a one-state solution. I want a sustainable, peaceful two-state solution," Netanyahu said Thursday in an interview on MSNBC's Andrea Mitchell Reports. Portions of the interview will air on NBC Night News on Thursday.
Heading into his fourth term as prime minister, Netanyahu explained that he remains committed to Palestinian statehood. "I haven't changed my policy," he said, referring to a position he took in a 2009 speech.
Instead, the reality has changed and conditions in the region must improve before a two-state solution can move forward, he said. At issue are the Palestinian unity government with militant Hamas and the failure of Palestinian leadership to recognize a Jewish state, Netanyahu said.
"The conditions are not achievable" today, Netanyahu said in a separate interview set to air on FOX New's The Kelly File at 9 p.m. ET Thursday. "We have to change the terms ... because right now we have to get the Palestinians to go back to the negotiating table, break their pact with Hamas and accept the idea of a Jewish state."
Netanyahu had announced his opposition to a Palestinian state Monday and reiterated that pledge early Tuesday after casting his ballot in the nation's elections.
His Likud Party had been lagging in pre-election polls, but came out on top with 30 seats in the new Knesset, or parliament — six seats more than the opposition Zionist Union, led by Isaac Herzog.Netanyahu's reversal — at odds with past statements and much of the international community's support for a two-state solution — had marked another flash point with the Obama administration. The White House had been prodding Israel and Palestinians to make progress in peace talks on creation of an independent Palestinian state.
Despite Netanyahu's revised comments, White House spokesman Josh Earnest said Thursday that the Obama administration will continue to re-evaluate its approach on the issue. The president and his aides have not made any final decisions on a new approach or whether there will even be one, he added.
"I'm not suggesting that any policy decision has been made at this point," Earnest said.
Aides were arranging a phone call between President Obama and Netanyahu, perhaps as early as Thursday, he added.
Netanyahu, who spoke earlier this week with Secretary of State John Kerry, also told MSNBC he expects to hear from Obama soon, and he pledged to work with the president.
While "we have our differences on Iran" nuclear negotiations, Netanyahu said Israel has no choice but to work with Obama and the United States.
"We're allies," he said. "We have to consult each other, not have fiats or unilateral imposition, but negotiated peace with our neighbors and support between allies."