

Despite attempts by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to clarify comments made during his election campaign that a Palestinian state would not emerge under his tenure, the White House will nevertheless "still evaluate" its policy on the Middle East peace process, Press Secretary Josh Earnest told reporters on Thursday.

The prime minister's comments, he said, call into question his commitment to the pursuit of peace and have forced the US government to reassess the the government's stance.

on Wednesday , Earnest characterized Netanyahu's suggestion that Arabs were With a sharpened tone since first reacting to Israel's election results, Earnest characterized Netanyahu's suggestion that Arabs were voting "in droves" against him as a "cynical Election Day tactic."

The US has supported two states for two peoples, the Jewish state of Israel and a Palestinian state of Palestine, for decades.

"Certainly, the prime minister's comments from a few days ago called into question his commitment to that," State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said on Thursday .

"We believe he changed his position," she continued. "We can't forget about those comments."

The White House said that US President Barack Obama and his administration would be carefully watching the actions of Netanyahu, his party and his coalition moving forward.

But the State Department further warned that, despite its reassessment, it still supports Palestinian cooperation with the Israelis on security matters.