“We believe he changed his position just a few days ago,” said State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki. Netanyahu dials back rhetoric But Obama administration officials say they assume he meant what he said about not approving a Palestinian state.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is rushing to dial back comments he made in the run up to Israeli elections this week that seemed to rule out a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

“I don’t want a one-state solution,” Netanyahu told NBC News in an interview broadcast Thursday. “I want a sustainable, peaceful two-state solution, but for that circumstances have to change.”


So far, it’s not helping him get back in the White House’s good graces.

President Barack Obama waited until Thursday to call Netanyahu, about a day and a half after it became clear he would keep his job, to “congratulate the prime minister on his party’s success in winning a plurality of Knesset seats,” according to the White House. The tepid congratulations came with a reaffirmation of the United States’ “long-standing commitment to a two-state solution that results in a secure Israel alongside a sovereign and viable Palestine.”

Other administration officials said they aren’t backing away from plans to “re-evaluate” its approach to dealing with the conflict.

“We believe he changed his position just a few days ago,” said State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki, asked about the interview on Thursday. “So certainly,” she added, “we can’t forget about those comments.”

The United States has been protecting Israeli interests in the United Nations in service of negotiations to achieve a two-state solution, White House press secretary Josh Earnest said on Thursday.

“This is a principle that he no longer subscribes to, and that his nation no longer subscribes to. That means the United States needs to rethink our approach,” Earnest said.

Netanyahu repeated his denial that he’d changed his position in an interview to be broadcast Thursday evening with Fox News Channel. But he also made it clear that he views himself as having a mandate to continue his hard line against negotiating with the Palestinian Authority while it’s in a unity government with Hamas.

“I think that you can’t force the people of Israel, who’ve just elected me by a wide margin, to bring them peace and security, to secure the state of Israel, to accept terms that would endanger the very survival of the state of Israel,” he told FOX.

Netanyahu told NBC that it’s not his policy that has changed, but “the reality.” That includes a Palestinian leadership that refuses to recognize a Jewish state, he said, and the proliferation of Islamist terrorists that have filled power vacuums in the Middle East.

If the United Nations does recognize a Palestinian state – a move the U.S. has so far blocked — “that state would become a terrorist state,” Netanyahu warned.

“It’s not surprising that Netanyahu is trying to walk back those comments on the two-state solution,” said Brian Katulis, a senior fellow at the Center for American Progress, adding that Netanyahu’s election comments had moved Israel out of the “regional and international mainstream” on the Palestinian question.

“The key question about today’s statement from Netanyahu is how much credibility he has on the topic, given his track record on the issue,” Katulis added. “Over the last two decades, his main operating mode on a two-state solution has been to stonewall rather than seek progress. He said some nice words about it in his famous speech in 2009, but actions speak louder than words.”

Katulis added that a key test will be how Netanyahu handles a current standoff between Israel and the Palestinian Authority. After the Palestinians moved to join the International Criminal Court in December — a step toward pressing for war crimes charges against Israel — Israel halted its transfer of more than $100 million in monthly tax revenue to the PA. Many analysts warn that the Palestinian governing body could be in danger of collapse.

Obama officials are watching the problem closely.

“Everybody’s been focused on Iran but it’s not as if the Palestinian issue has gone away,” said a senior administration official. “If anything, because of settlement activity and demographics, the Palestinian issue only gets harder with time.”

Michael Crowley contributed to this report.