29-03-2024 05:51 PM Jerusalem Timing

Obama Slams Netanyahu over Remarks on Two-State Solution

Obama Slams Netanyahu over Remarks on Two-State Solution

US President Barack Obama said Saturday that the Zionist Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s remarks prior to the Israeli elections have made it hard to find a path for Zionist-Palestinian negotiations to resume.

Zionist Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (L), US President Barack Obama (R) in the White HouseUS President Barack Obama said Saturday that the Zionist Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's remarks prior to the Israeli elections have made it hard to find a path for Zionist-Palestinian negotiations to resume.

"Given his statements prior to the election, it is going to be hard to find a path where people are seriously believing that negotiations are possible," Obama told the Huffington Post.

Three days before the Zionist elections on Tuesday, Netanyahu asserted that he would not allow the creation of a Palestinian state if he were to win.

But while speaking to a U.S. national news outlet on Thursday, the prime minister backtracked on those comments and said, "I want a sustainable, peaceful two-state solution."

However, neither President Obama nor senior administration officials seem satisfied with the Zionist leader's retreat.

"I had a chance to speak to Prime Minister Netanyahu yesterday and congratulated his party on his victory," Obama said. "I did indicate to him that we continue to believe that a two-state solution is the only way for the long-term security of Israel, if it wants to stay both a Jewish state and democratic."

He added that with respect to the Zionist-Palestinian conflict "the status quo is unsustainable."

Obama also criticized the Zionist leader's tough stance on the Palestinians after his election win, saying the United States is "evaluating" options for peace in the region.

"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," Obama said.

Obama also slammed Netanyahu's warning on election day about Arab voters heading to the polls "in droves" and said that the rhetoric was contrary to the best of traditions of the Zionist entity.

Netanyahu's Likud Party won 30 of the Knesset's 120 seats in the elections, while its main rival, the center-left Zionist Union, won 24 seats.

Obama was also asked about the impact of Netanyahu's election victory on the White House's ability to sell an agreement with Iran on its nuclear program.

"I don't think it will have a significant impact," Obama responded, noting that there has already been significant skepticism in Israel about Iran.

Obama's comments came hours after the US secretary of State John Kerry said that the world powers and Iran has made a "genuine progress" before he left Lausanne for London.

The US president, however, said that, "It's premature to suggest that there is a draft out there. What is true is that there has been movement from the Iranian side. We are consulting with the P5+1."