Obama: Netanyahu’s comments ‘erode the name of democracy’

Obama also expressed pessimism about Israel’s willingness to recognize a Palestinian state in the interview with the Huffington Post, and about the possibility of reaching a deal to prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons.

Following Netanyahu’s pre-election statement that there would be no Palestinian state if he were re-elected, Obama “indicated to him that given his statements prior to the election, it is going to be hard to find a path” forward on negotiations, Obama said.

Obama also said that he took issue with Netanyahu’s campaign trail warning that Israeli Arabs were headed to the polls “in droves.” The White House “indicated that that kind of rhetoric was contrary to what is the best of Israel’s traditions,” Obama said.

The relationship between Obama and Netanyahu has become more visibly frayed in recent weeks, with the Israeli prime minister addressing Congress without being invited by Obama, and then the White House suggesting after the Israeli elections that it would reassess its support for Israel at the United Nations.

Regarding nuclear negotiations with Iran, Obama said that the Iranian negotiations “have not yet made the kind of concessions that are, I think, going to be needed for a final deal to get done.”

Nevertheless, he said, Iran has moved closer to the position of the U.S. and other Western negotiators. He told the Huffington Post that getting a deal done would depend on Iran proving that it was not developing a nuclear weapon. It would also be contingent, Obama said, on his own ability to demonstrate to U.S. and Israeli citizens that the deal included mechanisms to prevent Iran from getting a bomb.

Obama acknowledged that there was skepticism in Israel of a deal, given the Iranian regime’s belligerent comments toward Israel.

“It is precisely for that reason that even before I became president, I said Iran could not have a nuclear weapon,” Obama said.