“It shouldn’t have been a surprise given some of his comments,” a senior administration official said about Ya’alon’s visit. “We give you $1.3 billion of aid and you are dumping on us. None of our friends have been disrespectful to the extent of Israel.”…
In January, the Obama administration — and indeed many of Ya’alon’s fellow Israeli politicians — were apoplectic when he was quoted in Israeli media calling Kerry “obsessive and messianic,” in his efforts to forge a peace deal between Israelis and Palestinians. Ya’alon added he hoped Kerry “gets a Nobel Prize and leaves us alone.”
Ya’alon apologized after protests by Washington and a strong rebuke from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. But tensions grew again in March, when Ya’alon harshly criticized the way the Obama administration was dealing with Iran, saying the president was trying to leave the issue for his successor to deal with.
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