WASHINGTON, Oct. 29 (Xinhua) -- The United States on Wednesday tried to calm down a war of words with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, dismissing comments by an anonymous American official as "counterproductive."
The senior U.S. official's description of Netanyahu as "a chickenshit" drew a sharp response from the Israeli leader on Wednesday, who countered that Israel's "supreme interests" -- with the security and unity of Jerusalem being the main one, "are not the main concern of those anonymous officials who attack us and me personally."
In response, White House spokesman Josh Earnest said that, "The fact is that comments like that do not reflect the administration' s view, and we do believe that they are counterproductive."
"There is a very close relationship between the United States and Israel, but that close relationship does not mean that we paper over our differences," he told reporters at a daily news briefing.
The latest spat erupted over Netanyahu's decision to advance plans for 1,060 housing units in Jewish neighborhoods in east Jerusalem, which the Palestinians want to be the capital of their future state built on the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.
Israel, however, insists on Jerusalem being its eternal and inseparable capital.
Continuing building of settler homes in east Jerusalem and the West Bank, lands Israel seized in the 1967 war, is a constant source of friction between the United States and Israel and had contributed to the collapse of the latest round of Israeli- Palestinian negotiations in April.
"The bad thing about him is that he won't do anything to reach an accommodation with the Palestinians or with the Sunni Arab states," the anonymous U.S. official said of Netanyahu on Tuesday in an interview with the Atlantic monthly, adding "The only thing he's interested in is protecting himself from political defeat ... He's got no guts."
"The assault on me comes only because I defend the State of Israel," Netanyahu said on Wednesday in parliament. "Despite all of the attacks I suffer, I will continue to defend our country."
State Department spokeswoman Jennifer Psaki also dismissed the anonymous comments as "inappropriate and counterproductive," saying Secretary of State John Kerry "feels strongly that a war of words is not productive from either side."
"Obviously, we believe that moving forward, it's in the best interest of both sides to address any issues that may arise appropriately and respectfully, and not through personal attacks," she told reporters at a daily news briefing.
She also said that the announcement of new settlements is " counterproductive or contradictory" to a two-state solution endorsed by Israel as well, and that the status of Jerusalem is a final-status issue that needs to be discussed and addressed with the Palestinians.
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