As expected, the message that Undersecretary of State Wendy Sherman relayed this week has attracted considerable interest in Jerusalem. She stated that the US administration plans to take a close look at the new government formed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to determine if it “looks like it has stepped back from its commitment to a two-state solution.” Sherman’s prognosis that if Israel does in fact fail to advance this solution — “It will be harder for us to prevent internationalizing the [Palestinian-Israeli] conflict” — was taken as a warning that active US support, or at least fence-sitting, when the Palestine issue comes up for a vote in international forums, would be at risk.

The comments by this senior official, made at a Reform Movement conference in Washington, join the response by White House spokesman Josh Earnest to Netanyahu’s campaign declaration that he opposes a two-state solution. Earnest said that this forces the United States to “evaluate” its approach toward Israel. Both messages insinuate that the freeze in negotiations over a two-state solution may offer a reprise of sorts, but it comes at a cost. The Obama administration wants to make it clear that Netanyahu can no longer rely on a right-wing coalition and policies, pay lip service to a two-state solution and also benefit from an automatic US veto of UN Security Council resolutions.

It seems to be no coincidence that these US messages were released at a critical juncture in the Israeli coalition negotiations. They could be interpreted as a signal to Netanyahu that if he does form a right-wing/pro-settlement government, it will be up to Foreign Minister Avigdor Liberman to convince the French to shelve the proposal they plan to submit to the Security Council recognizing the state of Palestine within its 1967 borders. Secretary of State John Kerry will be too busy with the negotiations with Iran on the basis of the Lausanne Statement, a document that both Netanyahu and the Republicans want to shelve.

In all likelihood, Netanyahu is well aware of these signals. Nevertheless, nothing indicates that the prime minister is considering changing the composition of the next government. The excuse “coalition constraints” has proven itself for decades now as an effective exit ramp from a diplomatic arrangement with the Palestinians. ''The diplomatic process'' would not have trudged about listlessly for so many years and the settlements would not be sprouting up so quickly were it not for the contributions of US emissaries such as Dennis Ross and George Mitchell to the peace process. They and senior officials like them could appeal to the president of the time to adjust US policy toward the conflict so that it met the needs of whatever Israeli coalition happened to be in power.