It seems that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's decision to accept the invitation of Republican Speaker of the House John Boehner to address Congress was the straw that broke the camel's back in the current Washington-Jerusalem relationship. Speaking to Al-Monitor on condition of anonymity, a senior State Department official expressed the deep dismay at all levels of the administration over Netanyahu's move, saying, "This is a direct affront to the president's international and domestic interests."

She claimed that there is no precedent in the State Department's collective memory of an Israeli prime minister siding with the president's opposition on such a central strategic issue. The source emphasized that this speech-to-be seemingly brings the Oval Office's level of mistrust of the Israeli prime minister to an all-time high. As far as this administration is concerned, should it come to any future diplomatic efforts, Netanyahu may no longer be considered a trustworthy partner, she said.

Sounding more concerned than angry, the official added that this is not just a personal or personality issue. It reflects a powerful divergence between the administration and the prime minister on the approach to diplomacy, with two main facets to this divergence.

The first facet concerns strategic cooperation at large: While the Barack Obama administration tackles international crises from an effective collective diplomacy attitude, the prime minister is prone to resolve crises by force. Such an approach makes bilateral diplomatic cooperation almost impossible, especially on key strategic issues. It poses grave obstacles in the consultations regarding the potential deal with Iran.