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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks March 18 at the Wailing Wall in Jerusalem after his Likud Party's victory in Israel's general election.(Photo: Thomas Coex, AFP/Getty Images)
JERUSALEM — In conciliatory moves, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday backtracked from a pre-election vow to oppose an independent Palestinian state and reached out to repair damaged relations with President Obama.
"I don't want a one-state solution. I want a sustainable, peaceful two-state solution, but for that, circumstances have to change," Netanyahu said on MSNBC's Andrea Mitchell Reports in his first interview since his Likud Party won Tuesday's election.
Netanyahu also extended an olive branch to Obama, who called later Thursday to congratulate the prime minister on his victory.
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The two leaders have been feuding openly over Netanyahu's earlier hard-line stance against a Palestinian state, as well as any potential U.S. deal with Iran on its nuclear program.
Netanyahu pledged Thursday to work with the president. "America has no greater ally than Israel, and Israel has no greater ally than the United States," he said.
White House spokesman Jose Earnest said Obama reiterated his support for a Palestinian state and talks with Iran on an agreement that would prevent it from obtaining the means to make a nuclear weapons.
Before the phone call, Earnest said the Obama administration will re-evaluate its approach on Palestinian statehood and suggested the U.S. might not automatically support Israel at the United Nations, as it has in the past.
But he added that the president and his aides have not made any final decisions on a new approach or whether there will even be one.
"I'm not suggesting that any policy decision has been made at this point," Earnest said.
Netanyahu had announced his opposition to a Palestinian state on Monday, saying he would work to prevent one from being established. He reiterated that pledge early Tuesday after casting his ballot in Israel's parliamentary elections. Pundits attributed the hard-line about-face as an attempt by Netanyahu — whose party was behind in the polls — to convince far right-wing voters of his nationalist credentials.
"I haven't changed my policy," Netanyahu said Thursday, referring to a speech he made in 2009 where he called for a Palestinian state. "What has changed is the reality."
Netanyahu said Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas refuses to recognize a Jewish state and has formed a unity government with the militant Hamas, a group that calls for the destruction of Israel.
"I was talking about what is achievable and what is not achievable," Netanyahu said, referring to his earlier comments that he didn't support a Palestinian state. "To make it achievable, then you have to have real negotiations with people who are committed to peace. We are. It's time that we saw the pressure on the Palestinians to show that they are committed, too."
After Tuesday's vote, Netanyahu's Likud Party came out on top with 30 seats in the new Knesset, or parliament — six seats more than the opposition Zionist Union, led by Isaac Herzog. Netanyahu still needs to form a coalition government with at least 61 seats in the 120-seat Knesset to start his fourth term as prime minister.
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Netanyahu's reversal on statehood — at odds with past statements and much of the international community's support for a two-state solution — marked another flash point with the White House after the Israeli leader spoke before Congress last month without Obama's approval. The administration has been prodding Israel and Palestinians to make progress in peace talks on creating an independent Palestinian state.
"By coming to the U.S., I did not mean any disrespect or attempt at partisanship, but I was merely speaking of something that I view could endanger the survival of Israel," Netanyahu said Thursday, referring to his talk about the U.S. negotiations with Iran.
While "we have our differences on Iran," Netanyahu said Israel has no choice but to work with Obama and the United States.
"We're allies," he said. "We have to consult each other, not have fiats or unilateral imposition, but negotiated peace with our neighbors and support between allies."
Earnest earlier ruled out that Obama would bring up Netanyahu's "divisive" election rhetoric about the high number of Arab voters going to the polls. Earnest described those comments as a "cynical Election Day strategy."
Herzog, the Zionist Union opposition leader, said Thursday that he could not in good conscience join a Likud-led government. He criticized Netanyahu's comments, saying they "touched on racism" and were founded on "lies, hostility and fear-mongering."
Netanyahu told MSNBC he was simply trying to get Israelis out to vote.
"I wasn't trying to suppress a vote," he said, adding that quite a few Arab voters were in favor of Likud. "I was trying to get something to counter a foreign-funded effort to get votes that are intended to topple my party."
Contributing: Katharine Lackey in McLean, Va., and David Jackson in Washington.
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