NY Times: Obama may agree to UN resolution on '67 borders after Netanyahu campaign rhetoric

Obama administration signals patience with Netanyahu running out.

By JPOST.COM STAFF
US President Barack Obama meets with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House, October 1, 2014 (photo credit: REUTERS)
US President Barack Obama meets with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House, October 1, 2014
(photo credit: REUTERS)
In the wake of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's resounding victory in Tuesday's election, the White House has expressed severe concern regarding the Likud leader's campaign rhetoric and noted turnaround against the establishment of a Palestinian state.
According to several administration officials, the Obama administration is now seriously considering agreeing to the passage of a United Nations Security Council resolution "embodying the principles of a two-state solution that would include Israel’s 1967 borders with Palestine and mutually agreed swaps of territory," according to The New York Times.
Although the relationship between Israel and the United States would remain strong, according to administration officials, it would not be managed by US President Barack Obama and Netanyahu. Instead, US Secretary of State John Kerry, one of Netanyahu's only remaining friends in the president's administration, would take over along with Pentagon officials who handle the close military alliance with Israel.
“The president is a pretty pragmatic person and if he felt it would be useful, he will certainly engage,” the Times quoted a senior administration official as saying. “But he’s not going to waste his time,” he added.
“The premise of our position internationally has been to support direct negotiations between the Israelis and the Palestinians,” a senior White House official said. “We are now in a reality where the Israeli government no longer supports direct negotiations. Therefore we clearly have to factor that into our decisions going forward.”