Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in recent days has insisted he remains open to the idea of a Palestinian state, but President Obama simply doesn’t believe him.
In an interview with the Huffington Post published Saturday, Mr. Obama said his administration will continue to reassess its strategy in the Middle East. The comments come after a rough week for U.S.-Israeli relations and a re-election victory for Mr. Netanyahu.
Before that victory, Mr. Netanyahu said a Palestinian state would not be established under his watch. The prime minister later changed course, saying repeatedly that he is, in fact, open to a two-state solution under the right circumstances.
But the White House clearly does not believe the Israeli leader is serious about a Palestinian state.
“We take him at his word when he said that it wouldn’t happen during his prime ministership, and so that’s why we’ve got to evaluate what other options are available to make sure that we don’t see a chaotic situation in the region,” Mr. Obama said.
The president also blasted Mr. Netanyahu’s pre-election remark about “droves” of Arab-Israeli voters going to the polls in an effort to oust him from office.
“We indicated that that kind of rhetoric was contrary to what is the best of Israel’s traditions. That although Israel was founded based on the historic Jewish homeland and the need to have a Jewish homeland, Israeli democracy has been premised on everybody in the country being treated equally and fairly,” Mr. Obama said.
“And I think that that is what’s best about Israeli democracy. If that is lost, then I think that not only does it give ammunition to folks who don’t believe in a Jewish state, but it also I think starts to erode the meaning of democracy in the country.”
• Ben Wolfgang can be reached at bwolfgang@washingtontimes.com.
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