Israel-US ties in crisis

One of them said that the prime minister "won't do anything to reach an accommodation with the Palestinians ... The only thing he's interested in is protecting himself from political defeat. He's got no guts."

The same article reported a different official saying that Israel's leader was a "coward" for not attacking Iran. "It's too late for him to do anything. Two, three years ago, this was a possibility. But ultimately he couldn't bring himself to pull the trigger," he said.

In response, the prime minister said he would "continue to uphold the security interests of Israel and the historical rights of the Jewish people in Jerusalem, and no amount of pressure will change that."

Economics Minister Naftali Bennett asked the US government to "reject these gross comments".

Meanwhile, "scheduling" reasons were given for the snubbing of Mr Yaalon last week.

It is understood that Mr Yaalon was being punished for remarks made earlier this year.

He called Secretary of State John Kerry "messianic" in his attempts to broker an Israeli-Palestinian agreement.

He also described the Obama administration's foreign policy as "broadcasting weakness".

Sources close to Mr Yaalon said the visit was successful because he met Secretary Hagel and other senior officials.

But Finance Minister Yair Lapid admitted: "There is a crisis with the Americans… we have to do everything to get out of the crisis."

In a Washington Post interview, Mr Yaalon said the West had "too many misconceptions" over the Middle East conflict. He added: "If we withdraw now from Judea and Samaria, we might face another Hamastan."

He has also condemned Obama's administration for not calling the leaders of Syria, Saudi Arabia and Iran "chickenshit," saying that insulting Mr Netanyahu in that way amounts to antisemitism.