The Zionist Defense Minister Moshe Yaalon has apologized on Wednesday for quotes that appeared in a newspaper lambasting US Secretary of State John Kerry’s role in the Middle East peace process.
The Zionist Defense Minister Moshe Yaalon has apologized on Wednesday for quotes that appeared in a newspaper lambasting US Secretary of State John Kerry's role in the Middle East peace process.
Yaalon said that Kerry was acting out of "misplaced obsession and messianic fervor". The US state department expressed anger at the remarks.
However, in a statement, Yaalon's office said that he had no intention to cause any offence.
"The defense minister... apologizes if the secretary was offended by words attributed to the minister," it added.
"Israel and the US shared "a common goal" of advancing peace talks with the Palestinians, the statement read.
"We appreciate Secretary Kerry's many efforts towards that end."
The White House said the alleged comments were "inappropriate" given America's support to the Zionist entity's security.
For his part, Kerry downplayed Wednesday the impact of Yaalon's offensive comments against him, saying he will not allow the slur to affect peace efforts.
"Prime Minister (Benjamin) 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 said.
"Everywhere I go, even here today, everybody I talk to express gratitude to the efforts the United States is making, for President (Barack) Obama's commitment to try to make peace between Palestinians and Israelis," he told reporters in Kuwait, where he was attending a donor conference aimed at raising funds for Syrians.
Yaalon said Tuesday a security plan that Kerry had presented to the Zionist entity was "not worth the paper it was written on".
"John Kerry - who has come to us determined and is acting out of an incomprehensible obsession and messianic fervor - cannot teach me anything about the conflict with the Palestinians," he was quoted as saying.
He expressed the hope that Kerry, who has made 10 trips to the Occupied Territories since March, would terminate his drive for peace and focus his energies elsewhere.
"The only thing that might save us is if John Kerry wins the Nobel Prize and leaves us be," he was quoted as saying.
Earlier this month, Kerry held talks with Zionist and Palestinian representatives in an effort to secure a "framework" for a final Zionist-Palestinian peace agreement.
A dispute over settlement construction led to the collapse of the last peace talks.
