Contradictory statements from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his ruling conservative Likud party seem to place in doubt Israel’s support for the “Two-State Solution” favored by the United States and most of the West to end the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians.

An Israeli newspaper on Friday reported about secret back-channel negotiations in which Netanyahu’s government proposed significant concessions toward the existence of a Palestinian state.  Bibi’s cred is built on his hard-line stance against the Palestinians, and such as revelation would not go down well with his nationalist support base, especially right before the 17 March election.

But then on Saturday, Likud put out the first of three confusing statements.  The first one stated, “Netanyahu’s entire political biography is a fight against the creation of a Palestinian state.”  Say whaaaaa?  If that is true, it dismisses as a farce nearly a quarter century of the cornerstone of negotiations led by Israel’s best friend America. 

On Sunday, Likud fine-tuned it to say that Netanyahu believes that if Israeli settlers were evacuated from Palestinian areas, the land “would fall into the hands of Islamic extremism and terror organizations supported by Iran.  Therefore, there will be no concessions or withdrawals; they are simply irrelevant”.

So, that’s two statements that give up on a two-state solution.  Later on Sunday, Netanyahu’s personal office announced that the two earlier statements were incorrect, and that Netanyahu had “never said such a thing”.

Although Netanyahu endorsed a two-state solution in 2009 – with a lot of reservations – critics have long doubted his enthusiasm and sincerity.  Even before last year’s ridiculously lopsided Gaza War, Netanyahu’s government permitted rapid expansion of Israeli settlements in Palestinian territories.  This weekend’s conflicting statements may serve to increase that doubt.