Netanyahu allies blame White House criticism on misunderstanding

By Jeffrey Heller JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Benjamin Netanyahu's allies acknowledged on Sunday that his election-eve disavowal of a Palestinian state had caused a rift with the White House, but blamed U.S. President Barack Obama's unprecedented criticism on a misunderstanding. The Israeli prime minister pledged on the eve of his re-election victory last week that there would never be a Palestinian state while he is prime minister. Since winning re-election, Netanyahu has tried to row back,