"In effect, during these past months, there haven't been negotiations with the Palestinians, but with the Americans. The only thing that can 'save' us is for John Kerry to win his Nobel Prize and leave us alone," Israel's Yediot Ahronoth daily today quoted Moshe Ya'alon as telling aides privately.
The defence ministry has so far neither confirmed nor denied the statement attributed to Ya'alon, an ex-army chief, who also described Kerry as "obsessive and messianic".
He doesn't intend to compromise on Israeli security even if he is called "a hard nut to crack", they said.
The remarks evoked angry reactions from both within the government and the opposition.
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Justice Minister Tzipi Livni, who leads Israel's negotiating team, posted on Facebook, "You can oppose negotiations professionally and responsibly without tongue-lashing and destroying relations with Israel's top ally."
Environmental Protection Minister Amir Peretz called on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to fire Ya'alon and ministers who agree with him.
"I think Ya'alon is revealing the true face of Netanyahu's government," Herzog told Army Radio.
"I agree with content. But with all our disagreements we need to follow one rule: We must refrain from personal insults", Ya'alon's ruling Likud Party colleague, Strategic Affairs Minister Yuval Steinitz, was quoted by the Jerusalem Post as saying.