Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon dismissed continued rumblings of a schism between Israel and the US on Monday, stating that it is only about the nuclear deal with Iran that Israel has “a profound disagreement with the US.”
“There is a threat to the State of Israel and instead of blocking Iran, it‘s paved the way,” Ya’alon said in an interview with Channel 2, adding that “Iran has carried out legitimate violations” of the interim deal.
“There is a world view that we disagree with [Washington] on here – that Iran will set precedents for the Middle East,” he added. “We believe this is a big mistake and so we are vocal about it.”
Ya’alon said that it is still possible to stop the agreement because it has not been signed yet.
The defense minister denied reports that the United States ended its security updates to Israel on Iran, as well.
“There was not one moment that passed where we did not share intelligence information,” he insisted, calling the claims “baseless.”
Disparity between White House, greater America?
Several politicians, including presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, have insisted that Israel should not become a partisan issue and that the majority of Capitol Hill stands behind the Jewish state.
Indeed, tensions have between Jerusalem and Washington have been on the rise, most recently over comments made by Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu before the elections, that he would do everything in his power to prevent the establishment of a Palestinian state.
Netanyahu later backtracked on those comments, saying he wants “a sustainable, peaceful two-state solution”. The White House, however, was not convinced, dismissing the comments and bluntly warning Israel that its “occupation of Palestinian land” must end.
The relations were tense even before this, however, and revolved around Netanyahu’s speech to Congress which was organized by House Republicans, bypassing the White House.
Both President Barack Obama and Secretary of State John Kerry said they would not meet with Netanyahu while he was in Washington, citing the proximity of his visit to the elections in Israel.
