White House Says Reported Israeli Criticism of Kerry is 'Offensive, Inappropriate'
The White House reacted angrily Tuesday after Israel's defense minister attacked what he called U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry's "obsession" with Middle East peace.
President Barack Obama's spokesman Jay Carney said Moshe Yaalon's remarks "if accurate, are offensive and inappropriate, especially in the light of everything Secretary Kerry is doing to support Israel's security needs."
Earlier, the U.S. State Department also condemned as "offensive and inappropriate" the reported comments.
"The remarks of the defense minister if accurate are offensive and inappropriate especially given all that the United States is doing to support Israel's security needs," spokeswoman Jennifer Psaki told reporters following a visit by Kerry to the Vatican.
The Yediot Aharonot newspaper in Israel on Tuesday reported Yaalon saying in private conversations with Israeli officials that Kerry's plan was "not worth the paper it was written on."
The minister also accused Washington's top diplomat of having an "incomprehensible obsession" about resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, accusing Kerry of being naive and implying he is a nuisance.
"It provides neither security nor peace," he reportedly said, adding: "The only thing that might save us is if John Kerry wins the Nobel Prize and leaves us be."
But Psaki said Kerry and his team "have been working day and night to try to promote a secure peace for Israel because of the Secretary's deep concern for Israel's future.
"To question his motives and distort his proposals is not something we would expect from the defense minister of a close ally," she said.
Kerry coaxed Israelis and Palestinians back into direct negotiations last summer and has visited the region 10 times since taking over as secretary of state in February 2013.
His proposals include a security plan for the Jordan Valley, where the West Bank borders Jordan, which would involve advanced hitech equipment and early warning stations that could allow Israel to reduce or replace its military presence in the area, Israeli media say.
Israel has always said that it would have to maintain a military presence in the Jordan Valley in any final agreement, an idea completely rejected by the Palestinians.
Source: Agence France Presse
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