Washington (CNN) The Obama administration's frustration with Benjamin Netanyahu is turning into outright hostility after the Israeli prime minister's commanding victory this week.

Administration officials greeted his win with harsh words Wednesday and suggestions that the U.S. might scale back its support for Israel at the United Nations, a significant reversal in policy after years of vetoing resolutions damaging to Jerusalem.

A senior administration official said that Netanyahu's sharp tacks to the right before Tuesday's vote -- in which he ruled out the creation of a Palestinian state, a pillar of U.S. policy in the Middle East -- "raise very significant substantive concerns" for the White House, and that "we have to reassess our options going forward."

People line up to vote in Bnei Brak on March 17.

People line up to vote in Bnei Brak on March 17.

A woman and child stand outside a polling station in Abu Ghosh, Israel, on March 17.

A woman and child stand outside a polling station in Abu Ghosh, Israel, on March 17.

Herzog talks to the media after voting in Tel Aviv on March 17.

Herzog talks to the media after voting in Tel Aviv on March 17.

An ultra-Orthodox Jewish man casts his ballot at a Jerusalem polling station on March 17.

An ultra-Orthodox Jewish man casts his ballot at a Jerusalem polling station on March 17.

A man hangs a poster of Netanyahu at his election campaign headquarters in Tel Aviv on March 17.

A man hangs a poster of Netanyahu at his election campaign headquarters in Tel Aviv on March 17.

An Israeli bride prepares to cast her vote at a polling station in Holon, Israel, on March 17.

An Israeli bride prepares to cast her vote at a polling station in Holon, Israel, on March 17.

Supporters of the Zionist Union alliance take part in early celebrations as they wait for election results March 17 in Tel Aviv.

Supporters of the Zionist Union alliance take part in early celebrations as they wait for election results March 17 in Tel Aviv.

Likud supporters celebrate in Tel Aviv after some exit poll results were announced Tuesday, March 17.

Likud supporters celebrate in Tel Aviv after some exit poll results were announced Tuesday, March 17.

Isaac Herzog, co-leader of the Zionist Union alliance, shakes hands with supporters in Tel Aviv as he reacts to exit poll figures on Tuesday, March 17.

Isaac Herzog, co-leader of the Zionist Union alliance, shakes hands with supporters in Tel Aviv as he reacts to exit poll figures on Tuesday, March 17.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu greets supporters at the Likud party's election headquarters in Tel Aviv, Israel, on Wednesday, March 18. Netanyahu appears poised to keep his job after Likud grabbed at least 29 of the 120 seats in Israel's parliament, according to unofficial numbers. The Zionist Union came in second, with at least 24 seats.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu greets supporters at the Likud party's election headquarters in Tel Aviv, Israel, on Wednesday, March 18. Netanyahu appears poised to keep his job after Likud grabbed at least 29 of the 120 seats in Israel's parliament, according to unofficial numbers. The Zionist Union came in second, with at least 24 seats.

Another senior U.S. official told CNN that Netanyahu's nixing of Palestinian statehood "could change things" for the U.S.-Israel relationship.

That official said the administration is waiting to see if Netanyahu walks back his comments. He warned, "We are in a very, very different situation than we have been in years if that is not the case."

But in some ways, they already are. President Barack Obama made it clear to Netanyahu on Wednesday that the Israeli prime minister, with whom he has repeatedly clashed, is still in the doghouse -- likely more so than ever before.

A troubled relationship

Yet now that Netanyahu has been reelected, the two leaders will have to work with each other for the next two years. How their troubled relationship will affect cooperation on the high-stakes issues facing both countries -- Iran's nuclear program, regional violence and the future of the Palestinians -- remains to be seen. But America's historic support for Israel at the U.N., as well as any White House ambitions of brokering further Israeli-Palestinian negotiations, seem likely to be affected sooner rather than later.

Instead of Obama, it was Secretary of State John Kerry who called Netanyahu Wednesday to congratulate him on his victory. The President is expected to call only "in the coming days," according to White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest.

In the meantime, Earnest had some hard language of his own for Netanyahu, particularly concerning campaign rhetoric in which the prime minister described Arabs as "voting in droves." The administration, Earnest said, is "deeply concerned" over the prime minister's "divisive" rhetoric about the Arab population.

A senior official who did not wish to be named went further, calling Netanyahu's words "offensive" and contrary to a democracy, where "we expect that you will treat your citizens equally."

While some quickly downplayed Netanyahu's comments as nothing more than political theater, Netanyahu's explicit opposition to a Palestinian state marked a departure from the policy of American administrations -- Republican and Democrat -- for more than a decade.

His apparently successful gambit to drive right-wing voters to the polls has sunk his relationship with Obama lower even than it was two weeks ago, when the Israeli leader made a controversial address to Congress openly opposing the administration's Iran policy in a move Democrats saw as highly partisan.

While U.S. officials continue to insist that U.S. support for Israel's security is sacrosanct, they have suggested that U.S. political support for Israel at the U.N. and with its European allies could suffer if the rift between the U.S. and Israel deepens.

Steven Simon, a former National Security Council official under Obama, said that given the strain with Netanyahu, the White House might now consider paring down the defense American diplomats play for Israel at the U.N.

The U.S. typically uses its veto power to swat away any anti-Israel resolutions or Palestinian attempts at reaching statehood through the U.N. Now, American diplomats could instead authorize some resolutions after edits or abstain from voting on them.

"That in itself in the context of administration policy would be a fairly dramatic step," Simon said.

Any drop in American support would come at a time when Israel needs that diplomatic backing more than ever. Palestinians joined the International Criminal Court in January and plan to file their first war crimes case against Israel next month. There is also a resolution under consideration that calls for a two-state solution based on Israel's 1967 borders, something Jerusalem opposes.

Security aid unaffected

U.S. officials and members of Congress stress, however, that the tensions with Israel won't lead to any cuts to the massive security aid package the U.S. funnels to Israel every year or to any change in the close military cooperation between the two countries.

"I think the military to military and intelligence cooperation is going to go on no matter who is in that office," California Rep. Adam Schiff, a Democrat, told CNN as Israelis flocked to the polls, though he warned that the relationship between Netanyahu and Obama could deteriorate even further.

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But Netanyahu's electioneering isn't costing him any support from his base in the U.S.: Republican lawmakers.

Arizona Sen. John McCain welcomed the election news by tweeting, "Congrats to Bibi -- the comeback kid!"

And potential Republican presidential contenders quickly blasted out statements lauding Netanyahu, many of them comparing him to British Prime Minister Winston Churchill.

Republicans stand to gain from victory by Netanyahu, who could bolster their argument that Obama is preparing a deal with Iran that could endanger the U.S. and Israel. And Netanyahu will also remain a thorn in Obama's side as the prospect of that deal nears.

Democrats had more mixed reactions.

Sen. Dianne Feinstein of California, who had criticized Netanyahu's plans to address Congress against the White House's wishes, said in a statement Wednesday that she hopes everyone will make fixing the U.S.-Israel relationship a priority, "regardless of political affiliation."

But she also stressed that Israel must remain committed to a two-state solution "despite campaign rhetoric."

New York Rep. Eliot Engel, however, seemed sure that Netanyahu would roll back his comments barring a Palestinian state and said people shouldn't "read too much into it."

Heated campaign rhetoric

"In the rhetoric and the heat of campaigns there are lots of things that are said," Engel, the top Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, told CNN. "I think that when they get shaken out we'll find out that not much has changed."

Engel stressed that the countries' shared democratic values would keep the relationship between the two partners strong regardless. And both sides have repeatedly pointed to mutual security concerns and other joint interests as factors that perpetually keep relations on track.

Photos: Netanyahu's life in pictures Photos: Netanyahu's life in pictures Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu chairs the weekly cabinet meeting at his office in Jerusalem on October 27. Hide Caption 1 of 54 Photos: Netanyahu's life in pictures Netanyahu, right, sits with a friend at the entrance to his family home in Jerusalem on July 1, 1967. The Israeli prime minister was born October 21, 1949. Hide Caption 2 of 54 Photos: Netanyahu's life in pictures Netanyahu, right, with a friend in the Judean Desert on May 1, 1968. Hide Caption 3 of 54 Photos: Netanyahu's life in pictures Netanyahu serves in the Sayeret Matkal, an elite commando unit of the Israeli army, in 1971. He spent five years in the unit. Hide Caption 4 of 54 Photos: Netanyahu's life in pictures Netanyahu shakes hands with Israeli President Zalman Shazar during a November 1972 ceremony honoring the Sayeret Matkal soldiers who freed hostages in a hijacking earlier that year. Hide Caption 5 of 54 Photos: Netanyahu's life in pictures Netanyahu and his first wife, Miriam, in June 1980. Hide Caption 6 of 54 Photos: Netanyahu's life in pictures Netanyahu and his daughter, Noa, in June 1980. Hide Caption 7 of 54 Photos: Netanyahu's life in pictures Netanyahu speaks in July 1986 with Sorin Hershko, one of the Israeli soldiers wounded in Operation Entebbe. It was the 10th anniversary of Operation Entebbe, a dramatic rescue of Jewish hostages at Uganda's Entebbe Airport. Netanyahu's brother, Yonatan, was killed leading Operation Entebbe in 1976. Affected by his brother's death, Netanyahu organized two international conferences on ways to combat terrorism, one in 1979 and another in 1984. Hide Caption 8 of 54 Photos: Netanyahu's life in pictures From 1984 to 1988, Netanyahu was Israel's ambassador to the United Nations. Hide Caption 9 of 54 Photos: Netanyahu's life in pictures Netanyahu talks to Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Shamir on a stroll in New York's Central Park in November 1987. Hide Caption 10 of 54 Photos: Netanyahu's life in pictures Netanyahu, as Israel's deputy foreign minister, goes through some papers as Government Secretary Elyakim Rubinstein recites morning prayers on a flight from New York to Washington in April 1989. Hide Caption 11 of 54 Photos: Netanyahu's life in pictures Shamir speaks with Netanyahu at a Middle East peace conference in Madrid in October 1991. Hide Caption 12 of 54 Photos: Netanyahu's life in pictures Netanyahu celebrates after being elected chairman of the right-wing Likud party on March 21, 1993. Hide Caption 13 of 54 Photos: Netanyahu's life in pictures Netanyahu and former foreign minister David Levy sit in the Knesset during the vote for a new Israeli President on March 24, 1993. Hide Caption 14 of 54 Photos: Netanyahu's life in pictures Netanyahu meets with King Hussein of Jordan, center, and Crown Prince Hassan in December 1994. It was Netanyahu's first visit to Jordan. Hide Caption 15 of 54 Photos: Netanyahu's life in pictures Netanyahu shakes hands with outgoing Israeli Prime Minister Shimon Peres before taking the office himself in June 1996. Hide Caption 16 of 54 Photos: Netanyahu's life in pictures Netanyahu meets with Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat for the first time on September 4, 1996, at an Israeli army base at the Erez Checkpoint in Gaza. Hide Caption 17 of 54 Photos: Netanyahu's life in pictures Netanyahu meets with US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright in Washington in February 1997. Hide Caption 18 of 54 Photos: Netanyahu's life in pictures Netanyahu spends the day on the beach with his wife, Sara, and son Avner in Caesarea, Israel, on August 16, 1997. Hide Caption 19 of 54 Photos: Netanyahu's life in pictures Actor Kirk Douglas holds the King David Award, presented to him by the Jerusalem Fund of Aish HaTorah during a dinner in Beverly Hills, California, on November 17, 1997. Douglas was honored for his inspirational commitment to Israel and the Jewish people and in recognition of his new book "Climbing the Mountain." Netanyahu is on the left. To the right is Rabbi Nachum Braverman, director of the Jerusalem Fund of Aish HaTorah. Hide Caption 20 of 54 Photos: Netanyahu's life in pictures Netanyahu looks through binoculars during a tour of the West Bank with the Israeli Cabinet on December 28, 1997. Hide Caption 21 of 54 Photos: Netanyahu's life in pictures Netanyahu and UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan meet in Annan's office in New York on May 15, 1998. Hide Caption 22 of 54 Photos: Netanyahu's life in pictures From left, Arafat, King Hussein, US President Bill Clinton and Netanyahu sign an interim Middle East peace agreement in October 1998. Hide Caption 23 of 54 Photos: Netanyahu's life in pictures Netanyahu thanks a crowd of supporters in Tel Aviv, Israel, at a Likud party meeting in May 1999. The outgoing Prime Minister announced that he was quitting the Knesset and stepping down as party leader 10 days after being defeated in elections. Hide Caption 24 of 54 Photos: Netanyahu's life in pictures Netanyahu testifies before the US House Government Reform Committee on September 20, 2001. The committee was conducting hearings on terrorism following the September 11 attacks. Hide Caption 25 of 54 Photos: Netanyahu's life in pictures Netanyahu, as Israel's foreign minister, laughs with Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon at the start of a Likud convention in Tel Aviv on November 12, 2002. Hide Caption 26 of 54 Photos: Netanyahu's life in pictures Netanyahu and his wife, Sara, are seen at a polling station in Jerusalem on August 14, 2007. He was re-elected as head of the Likud party. Hide Caption 27 of 54 Photos: Netanyahu's life in pictures Netanyahu shakes hands with Israeli President Shimon Peres in February 2009 after Netanyahu won backing from the Israeli parliament to become Prime Minister again. A close election between Netanyahu and rival Tzipi Livni had left the results unclear until the parliament's decision. Hide Caption 28 of 54 Photos: Netanyahu's life in pictures From left, Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, Netanyahu, US President Barack Obama, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Jordan's King Abdullah II walk to the East Room of the White House to make statements on the Middle East peace process on September 1, 2010. Hide Caption 29 of 54 Photos: Netanyahu's life in pictures Obama meets with Netanyahu at the White House in September 2010. Hide Caption 30 of 54 Photos: Netanyahu's life in pictures US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton looks on as Abbas and Netanyahu shake hands in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt, on September 14, 2010, during a second round of Middle East peace talks. Hide Caption 31 of 54 Photos: Netanyahu's life in pictures British Prime Minister David Cameron welcomes Netanyahu to 10 Downing Street in London on May 4, 2011. Hide Caption 32 of 54 Photos: Netanyahu's life in pictures Netanyahu address a joint session of the US Congress on May 24, 2011. He said that he was prepared to make "painful compromises" for a peace settlement with the Palestinians, but he repeated that Israel will not accept a return to its pre-1967 boundaries. Hide Caption 33 of 54 Photos: Netanyahu's life in pictures Netanyahu uses a diagram of a bomb to describe Iran's nuclear program while delivering an address to the UN General Assembly on September 27, 2012. Netanyahu exhorted the General Assembly to draw "a clear red line" to stop Iran from developing nuclear weapons. Hide Caption 34 of 54 Photos: Netanyahu's life in pictures Netanyahu and Avigdor Lieberman of the Likud-Beiteinu coalition party greet supporters as they arrive onstage on election night in January 2013. The Likud-Beiteinu won 31 seats in the Knesset. Hide Caption 35 of 54 Photos: Netanyahu's life in pictures Netanyahu speaks at the UN General Assembly on October 1, 2013. He accused Iranian President Hassan Rouhani of seeking to obtain a nuclear weapon and described him as "a wolf in sheep's clothing, a wolf who thinks he can pull the wool over the eyes of the international community." Hide Caption 36 of 54 Photos: Netanyahu's life in pictures In December 2014, Netanyahu called for early elections as he fired two key ministers for opposing government policy. Hide Caption 37 of 54 Photos: Netanyahu's life in pictures Netanyahu is greeted by members of US Congress as he arrives to speak in the House chamber in March 2015. He warned that a proposed agreement between world powers and Iran was "a bad deal" that would not stop Tehran from getting nuclear weapons — but would rather pave its way to getting lots of them and leave the Jewish State in grave peril. Hide Caption 38 of 54 Photos: Netanyahu's life in pictures Netanyahu and his family take a vacation in southern Israel in April 2015. Hide Caption 39 of 54 Photos: Netanyahu's life in pictures Netanyahu and German Chancellor Angela Merkel talk in Berlin in October 2015. Hide Caption 40 of 54 Photos: Netanyahu's life in pictures Netanyahu speaks to the press in Tel Aviv, Israel, in June 2016. A day earlier, two attackers identified as Palestinians opened fire at a popular food and shopping complex near the Israeli Defense Ministry in Tel Aviv, killing four Israelis and sending other patrons scrambling to safety. Hide Caption 41 of 54 Photos: Netanyahu's life in pictures Netanyahu stands next to US President Barack Obama as they attend the funeral of former Israeli President Shimon Peres in September 2016. Hide Caption 42 of 54 Photos: Netanyahu's life in pictures Netanyahu visits Moriah College in Sydney in February 2017. It was the first time an Israeli prime minister had visited Australia. Hide Caption 43 of 54 Photos: Netanyahu's life in pictures Netanyahu speaks to US President Donald Trump in May 2017. Trump visited Israel and the West Bank during his first foreign trip as President. Hide Caption 44 of 54 Photos: Netanyahu's life in pictures Netanyahu and his wife, Sara, pose for a photo at the Taj Mahal in Agra, India, in January 2018. Hide Caption 45 of 54 Photos: Netanyahu's life in pictures Netanyahu, speaking at a security conference in Germany in February 2018, holds up what he claimed is a piece of an Iranian drone that was shot down after it flew over Israeli territory. Hide Caption 46 of 54 Photos: Netanyahu's life in pictures Netanyahu, giving a speech at the Ministry of Defense in April 2018, accused Iran of "brazenly lying" over its nuclear ambitions. He said Israel had uncovered files that prove his allegation and that the Islamic republic is keeping an "atomic archive" at a secret compound. Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi called Netanyahu's comments "childish" and "laughable." Hide Caption 47 of 54 Photos: Netanyahu's life in pictures From left, Netanyahu sits beside senior White House adviser Jared Kushner; President Trump's daughter, Ivanka; Israeli President Reuven Rivlin; and US Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin during the opening of the new US Embassy in Jerusalem in May 2018. Hide Caption 48 of 54 Photos: Netanyahu's life in pictures Netanyahu and his wife, Sara, pose for a photo with Russian President Vladimir Putin after talks in Moscow in February 2019. Hide Caption 49 of 54 Photos: Netanyahu's life in pictures The Netanyahus cast their votes during Israel's parliamentary elections in April 2019. The election was seen as a referendum on Netanyahu's long tenure as prime minister. Hide Caption 50 of 54 Photos: Netanyahu's life in pictures Netanyahu greets supporters in April 2019. Hide Caption 51 of 54 Photos: Netanyahu's life in pictures An election banner on a Jerusalem building shows Netanyahu shaking hands with US President Donald Trump. Trump remains incredibly popular in Israel — far more popular than he is in the United States. Hide Caption 52 of 54 Photos: Netanyahu's life in pictures Netanyahu meets with British Prime Minister Boris Johnson in London in September 2019. Hide Caption 53 of 54 Photos: Netanyahu's life in pictures Netanyahu and Israeli Blue and White party chief Benny Gantz reach to shake hands during a state memorial ceremony for former Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and his wife Leah in Jerusalem on November 10. Exit polls for a repeat general election in September failed to give either of the political rivals a majority in the new parliament. Hide Caption 54 of 54

But the Obama administration said it was taking the Palestinian state comments at "face value" for now, with a senior official saying that while the White House understands heated rhetoric can be a part of a campaign, "there are policy ramifications."

And some progressive Democrats aren't so sure Netanyahu could or would refine his view on a Palestinian state, viewing his election strategy as a risky move that could further isolate Israel.

"It's not just tensions between the Netanyahu government and the Obama administration. It's a fundamental tension between what a majority of Americans [think]," said Rep. Earl Blumenauer of Oregon, one of nearly 60 Democrats to boycott Netanyahu's speech last month.

Blumenauer voiced the frustration of many who have watched one peace process after another buckle and see Netanyahu's decisive win with the help of right-wing votes making it unlikely the peace process will get a new beginning during Obama's presidency.

For Blumenauer, there's no doubt that "the ball's in [Netanyahu's] court" if he wants to massage strained ties.

He's not the only one to place the burden for an improvement in ties on Netanyahu -- or the only one struggling to see a rekindling of the peace process in Netanyahu's reelection

"One hopes that when out of campaign mode, the prime minster would recognize the importance of the United States strategically to Israel and would take a step or two in the direction of trying to ease the tensions," said Jeremy Ben-Ami, the executive director or the pro-Israel, pro-peace group J Street. Asked whether the peace process could be reignited under Netanyahu, Ben-Ami was concise: "No."

Maintaining the status quo

But a top George W. Bush adviser said that it was unlikely Netanyahu would be willing to do much to mend relations with Obama.

"From Netanyahu's point of view, he is the person who has been sinned against, who has been treated badly for six years," said Elliott Abrams, a former deputy National Security Council adviser.

Instead, it's more likely Netanyahu and Obama will decide to live with the status quo of their relationship -- unless, he suggested, they decide to learn from the ratcheting up of tensions in recent months.

The White House's attacks on Netanyahu in the lead-up to the election didn't sway Israelis and Netanyahu's politicking and defiance of Obama only deepened the rift between the two leaders.

"Maybe it's possible to just turn down the heat," Abrams said.