BICOM

The fall-out continues from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s apparent rejection of a two-state solution during the election campaign, despite his attempts to row-back from it in a series of media interviews qualifying the statement.

Yesterday, President Barack Obama’s Chief-of-Staff, Denis McDonough, issued harsh criticism of the Prime Minister at the annual conference of J Street, the American left-wing Israel advocacy organisation.

He seemed to dismiss Netanyahu’s clarifications by saying “We cannot simply pretend that these comments were never made,” stressing that every United States administration has opposed West Bank settlements and declaring that “an occupation that has lasted for almost 50 years must end.”

Response in Israel to the wave of criticism from Israel’s main ally since the election has been mixed. Left-wing opponents of Netanyahu have framed it as vindication of their pre-election warnings that the Prime Minister is harming Israel’s international standing. Other commentators see the administration’s moves as motivated by personal animus against Netanyahu, noting that the White House could easily have chosen to accept his clarification and to take his original remarks as misguided campaign rhetoric. Some have speculated that, despite the seemingly inevitable moves towards a narrow, right-wing coalition, the extent of the tension with the US could force the Prime Minister to consider inviting centre-left parties to join the government.

Meanwhile, in the US, Republicans, including veteran Senator John McCain and Senator Ted Cruz, a candidate to be the Republican nominee for the presidency, have harshly criticised the President for condemning Israel while – from their perspective – appeasing Iran.