Netanyahu Backs Away From Rejection Of Palestinian State; White House Unmoved .....Bibi Tries To Walk Back Denial Of 2-State Solution... Damage Done... U.S.-Israel Relationship At New Low...

Reuters |  By Matt Spetalnick & Doina Chiacu Posted: 03/19/2015 6:39 pm EDT 

WASHINGTON, March 19 (Reuters) - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu denied on Thursday abandoning his commitment to the eventual creation of a Palestinian state, backing away from pre-election comments that deepened a rift with Israel's chief ally the United States.

Netanyahu & Obama (AP Photo)

But the White House, unmoved by Netanyahu's post-election effort to backtrack, delivered a fresh rebuke against the Israeli leader and signaled that Washington may reconsider its decades-old policy of shielding Israel from international pressure at the United Nations.

The White House warned there would be "consequences" for Israel as the Obama administration "re-evaluates" its Middle East diplomatic strategy and monitors the formation of Netanyahu's new ruling coalition. "He walked back from commitments that Israel had previously made to a two-state solution," White House spokesman Josh Earnest told reporters. "It is ... cause for the United States to evaluate what our path is forward."

President Barack Obama called Netanyahu to congratulate him on his re-election victory on Tuesday and used the opportunity to reaffirm "the United States' longstanding commitment to a two-state solution" to the Middle East conflict, the White House said. more