US says still waiting for Israeli minister's apology
Israeli Defense Minister Moshe Ya'aloon called US Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel to clarify his statement where he described the US as weak, but the US is 'disappointed with the lack of an apology'.
The State Department said Friday that it does not consider Israeli Defense Minister Moshe Ya'alon’s clarification of his remarks this week about US weakness to constitute an apology, prolonging an unusually public spat between the two allies.
The United States is "disappointed with the lack of an apology" by Israeli Defense Minister Ya'alon, State Department spokesperson Jen Psaki said Friday.
"We still have remaining concerns about [Defense Minister Ya'alon’s] pattern of behavior," Psaki said.
The latest diplomatic dust-up between Washington and Jerusalem erupted when Haaretz reported that Ya'alon, speaking at Tel Aviv University Monday, said the US was “showing weakness” on the world stage, and that Israel should not rely on Washington to handle Iran.
