Israel’s defense minister was quoted Tuesday as saying that the country’s salvation lies in U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry winning the Nobel Peace Prize and leaving Israel alone, Reuters reported.
Yedioth Ahronoth, Israel’s biggest-selling newspaper, also quoted Defense Minister Moshe Yaalon calling Kerry’s effort to hammer out a peace agreement between Israel and Palestine “messianic.”
“Secretary of State John Kerry – who has come to us determined and is acting out of an incomprehensible obsession and a messianic feeling – cannot teach me a single thing about the conflict with the Palestinians,” Yaalon said, as quoted by Reuters.
“The only thing that can save us is if Kerry wins the Nobel prize and leaves us alone.”
Yaalon then attempted some damage control while speaking to students Tuesday in southern Israel, without mentioning Yedioth Ahronoth’s report.
“Even if there are differences and friction within various discussions, and there are, they must not affect the interests or common goals of Israel and the United States,” Yaalon said in comments broadcast on Army radio, as quoted by Reuters.
