Secretary of State John Kerry brushed off comments Wednesday made by Israel’s defense minister a day earlier. The Obama administration had called the remarks “offensive.”
On Tuesday, Israeli Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon was quoted by newspaper Yediot Aharonot as saying Kerry was acting “messianic,” and should leave Israel alone.
At a press conference in Kuwait City on Wednesday, a reporter asked if the comments “shocked or upset” Kerry.
{mosads}“Prime Minister Netanyahu and I talk regularly, and we are both very committed to moving the process forward. And we just can’t let one set of comments undermine that effort, and I don’t intend to,” Kerry replied.
Ya’alon sharply criticized a peace and security agreement Kerry is helping to draft for the Israelis and Palestinians; Kerry aims for them to reach a final deal by the end of April.
Kerry has been “acting out of misplaced obsession and messianic fervor, cannot teach me anything about the conflict with the Palestinians,” Ya’alon said.
He added the only thing that can “save” his country is for Kerry to win a Nobel Peace Prize and leave Israel in peace.
Late Tuesday, Israel’s defense ministry said Ya’alon apologized for the remarks.
“The defense minister had no intention to cause any offense to the secretary, and he apologizes if the secretary was offended,” the ministry said, according to The Jerusalem Post.
Nonetheless, Kerry said he is undeterred in the peace process.
“I will work with the willing participants who are committed to peace, and committed to this process,” he said. “And after five months of negotiations, I believe strongly in the prospects for peace, and I know that the status quo is not sustainable. So we will continue to work, and I will work undeterred.”