Major US Backlash After Israeli DM Criticizes Kerry

US Demanding Netanyahu Disavow Comments

US-Israeli relations have been on a rather uneven keel for months now, but really took a hit today with Israeli Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon condemning Secretary of State John Kerry’s peace plan as “not worth the paper it’s written on.”

Ya’alon went on a protracted rant against Kerry in the comments, saying his plan contained “no peace and no security” and that Kerry himself was “acting out of misplaced obsession and messianic fervor.” He also hoped Kerry would hurry up and win a Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts so he’d “leave us in peace.”

Condemning Kerry has been a hobby of a lot of Israel’s current coalition, but while a lot of those comments didn’t go anywhere, the US State Department lashed out loudly and quickly against Ya’alon, calling his comments “deeply offensive.”

By the evening, Ya’alon’s office had issued a formal statement of apology, and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called unnamed top US officials in an attempt to calm things down.

Even after that, the Obama Administration is demanding that Netanyahu formally disavow Ya’alon’s comments in public, and reaffirm his “commitment” to the US proposal.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.