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 Even as President Barack Obama's administration congratulated
Netanyahu for his party's decisive win, the White House signaled its
deep disagreements – and thorny relationship - with Netanyahu will
persist on issues ranging from Middle East peacemaking to Iran
nuclear diplomacy.
In a hard-right shift in the final days of campaigning, Netanyahu
backtracked on his support for eventual creation of a Palestinian
state - the cornerstone of more than two decades of peace efforts -
and promised to continue building Jewish settlements on occupied
land.
Such policies could put him on a new collision course with the Obama
administration. Some Obama aides had privately left little doubt
during the Israeli election campaign of their preference for
Netanyahu's center-left challenger, Isaac Herzog.
White House spokesman Josh Earnest reaffirmed Obama’s commitment to
a two-state solution to the Middle East conflict and said that based
on Netanyahu’s comments, "the United States will evaluate our
approach to this situation moving forward."
 Netanyahu’s insistence that there will be no Palestinian state while
he holds office, seen as a maneuver to mobilize his right-wing base,
angered the Palestinians and drew criticism from the United Nations
and European governments. Chances for restarting long-stalled peace
moves already had been low.
U.S. lawmakers were divided on Netanyahu's hardened stance.
"It was remarkable to back-track so significantly on a two-state
solution," said Democratic U.S. Senator Chris Murphy, adding it
could make Washington's effort to mediate more difficult.
Republican Senator Lindsey Graham said he hoped the United States
and Israel would see the election as "an opportunity to start over."
But he said: "A two-state solution is impossible as long as Hamas
exists and runs Gaza."
DEEP CONCERN
Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One, Earnest said the
administration would communicate its concern directly to the Israeli
government over rhetoric used by Netanyahu's campaign.
Netanyahu charged on election day in Israel that left-wingers were
trying to get Arab-Israeli voters out "in droves" to sway the
election against him. "The United States and this administration is
deeply concerned about rhetoric that seeks to marginalize
Arab-Israeli citizens," Earnest said.
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Arabs comprise about 20 percent of Israel's population of eight
million and have long complained about discrimination. They emerged
from Tuesday's vote as the third largest party.
Two weeks ago Netanyahu defied Obama with a politically divisive
speech to Congress attacking U.S.-led nuclear talks with Iran.
Earnest predicted that Netanyahu's re-election would have no
"material impact" on the sensitive Iran negotiations.
Secretary of State John Kerry called Netanyahu on Wednesday to
congratulate him. Obama will follow suit "in coming days," Earnest
said. He said that after previous elections Obama had waited a
similar amount of time, holding off until Netanyahu was formally
given the go-ahead to form a coalition.
Although Netanyahu must still put together a coalition, his victory
all but guarantees Israel's president will give him the first
opportunity to form a government.
Administration officials had privately signaled their hopes for an
election outcome more in sync with Obama’s agenda, especially with
an end-of-March deadline looming for a framework nuclear deal in
negotiations between Tehran and world powers.
But they, and lawmakers, said U.S.-Israeli ties were strong enough
to transcend their leaders' differences.
"Who cares if they don't like each other?" asked U.S. Representative
Eliot Engel, the top Democrat on the House of Representatives
Foreign Affairs Committee.
(Additional reporting by Julia Edwards and Jeff Mason in Washington;
Writing by Matt Spetalnick; Editing by Howard Goller, Toni Reinhold)
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