The White House yesterday expressed its deep concern over Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s use of “divisive rhetoric” during the Israeli elections.
Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Election Day that leftists parties bring Arab voters “in buses”, risking right-wing power in the Knesset.
White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest told reporters aboard Air Force One that “rhetoric that seeks to marginalise one segment of their population is deeply concerning and it is divisive, and I can tell you that these are views the administration intends to communicate directly to the Israelis.”
The White House announced that Secretary of State John Kerry has briefly called Netanyahu and congratulated him on his victory.
According to the White House statement, US President Barack Obama will also call Netanyahu in the coming days.
Netanyahu announced on the eve of the elections that he opposes a Palestinian state and refuses to withdraw from the occupied West Bank.
However, Earnest insisted that Obama still believes that the two-state solution is the best solution.
Earnest said he did not believe Netanyahu’s victory will impact the negotiations between the major world powers and Iran over the latter’s nuclear programme.
Meanwhile, European Foreign Policy chief, Federica Mogherini, yesterday congratulated Netanyahu saying the EU is committed to working with the new Israeli government on a “mutually beneficial relationship as well as on the re-launch of the peace process.”
Mogherini said: “We are at a crucial moment; with many threats all over the Middle East” noting that the EU “staunchly supports a peaceful resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, in the interest of the Israeli people, of the Palestinian people and of the whole region. We are at your side, you can count on us.”
However, the EU official stressed that “bold leadership” was needed more than ever to “reach a comprehensive, stable and viable settlement of a conflict that has already deprived too many generations of peace and security. It’s time to turn this page and I’m confident that we can work together with the international community for a solution that will guarantee peace and security in the Middle East.”