BICOM

Israel’s Defence Minister Moshe Ya’alon apologised yesterday evening following a rebuke by United States officials over disparaging comments which he made regarding US Secretary of State John Kerry and his diplomatic efforts.

Kerry brokered the resumption of peace talks between Israel and the Palestinian Authority (PA) in July and recently presented Israeli and Palestinian leaders with a proposed framework for final status talks. However, Yediot Ahronot reported yesterday that in a closed forum Ya’alon described Kerry as “inexplicably obsessive” and accused him of a “sense of messianism” regarding a peace agreement. Ya’alon apparently dismissed Kerry’s proposed West Bank security plan as “not worth the paper it was written on” as “it provides neither peace nor security.”

In response to the report, US officials issued a rare rebuke of an Israeli minister. White House spokesman Jay Carney said the comments were “not something we would expect from the defence minister of a close ally,” while US State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki expressed similar views and said Kerry is “working day and night” out of “deep concern for Israel’s future.”

Media reports suggested a lengthy meeting between Ya’alon and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu before a statement was released which said Ya’alon “had no intention to cause any offense to the secretary, and he apologizes if the secretary was offended by words attributed to the minister.” Earlier in the day at the Knesset, Netanyahu emphasised “our important ties to the United States” commenting “Even when we have disagreements… they are always substantive and not ad hominem.”

However, Ya’alon was criticised by several ministerial colleagues. Justice Minister and lead negotiator Tzipi Livni said Kerry is pushing for a peace accord “out of a profound understanding that this is in Israel’s interests.” Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman criticised the “loud, public argument” sparked by Ya’alon’s comment. Meanwhile, opposition leader and Labour head Isaac Herzog said that Ya’alon had revealed “Likud’s true colours” and called on Yesh Atid and Hatnuah to reconsider their positions in government.