But he described his frustration at the failure to restart the peace talks, scuppered by the announcement of the planned housing, and by the rioting of Palestinians in east Jerusalem.
He said: “There is a disagreement over how we can move this peace process forward. The actions that were taken by the Interior Minister of Israel weren’t helpful to that process. Mr Netanyahu acknowledged as much and apologised for it, and what we’ve said is that we need both sides to take steps to make sure that we can rebuild trust.”
He added: “Yesterday’s riots by the Palestinians, we condemn them in the same way.”
Mr Netanyahu welcomed Mr Obama’s words but gave no further clue whether he would agree to US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s request that he should back down over the planned housing.
He said: "I have a deep appreciation for President Obama's commitment to Israel's security, which he has expressed many times."
