Washington, March 20 (RHC)-- The Barack Obama administration has signaled a potential shift in its approach to Israel and Palestine following the re-election of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

On the eve of the vote, Netanyahu vowed to prevent the establishment of a Palestinian state and warned against a high turnout of Arab voters. In its first public response, the White House said it is "deeply concerned" about divisive rhetoric and "will evaluate our approach to this situation moving forward."

According to The New York Times, the Obama administration is considering backing a United Nationns Security Council

resolution calling for a two-state solution based on an Israeli withdrawal from the Occupied Territories. That would mean the U.S. president would be formally supporting official U.S. policy for the first time, after previously vetoing similar resolutions at the United Nations.

A 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." On Wednesday, a spokesperson for U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon renewed calls on Israel to end the occupation.