Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, right, speaks with Finance Minister Yair Lapid during a cabinet meeting in Jerusalem Tuesday, Oct. 7, 2014.(AP Photo/Dan Balilty, Pool) AP Photo/Dan Balilty, Pool
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JERUSALEM (TheBlaze/AP) — There is a "crisis" in Israel's relations with the United States that must be fixed, a top Israeli minister said.
Finance Minister Yair Lapid's comments Saturday came a day after U.S. officials said the Obama administration refused Israeli Defense Minister Moshe Yaalon's requests to meet several top national security aides.
Israeli Finance Minister Yair Lapid (left) speaks to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during a cabinet meeting in Jerusalem Tuesday, Oct. 7, 2014. (Image source: AP/Dan Balilty, Pool)
The White House and the State Department rejected Israeli proposals for meetings with Vice President Joe Biden, National Security Adviser Susan Rice and Secretary of State John Kerry on his five-day trip to the United States.
The administration is still miffed over negative comments Yaalon made about Kerry's Mideast peace efforts and nuclear negotiations with Iran.
Lapid said "there is a crisis with the United States" and added that the relationship "must be managed respectfully and responsibly."
"We mustn't pretend there isn't a crisis," Lapid told a Tel Aviv crowd, Ynet reported. "Our relations with the U.S. are vital and everything that can be done must be done to end this crisis."
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