TO BUILD OR NOT TO BUILD...that is the issue!

The United States of America is trying to pressure Israel into halting the advancement of West Bank settlement plans, charged Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon, as he noted that the Obama Administration was temporary and had only two more years left in power.

He spoke on Tuesday in a closed door meeting with pupils in the Makor Haim Yeshiva, which is located in the Gush Etzion region of the West Bank, just outside of Jerusalem.

His words, however, were recorded and limited sections of the speech were played Wednesday morning on Army Radio. 

While the defense minister said he wants to "approve more plans" and continue building in the West Bank – an issue that has long drawn ire from "the Americans, first," but also other countries – Israel has taken a cautious stance.

The Obama Administration would not be in the White House forever, Ya'alon said, suggesting that the setback to building would not be Jerusalem's policy going forward.

Ya'alon said the Israeli government was being careful, reiterating "the need to be cautious" since "any report on building – even in Jerusalem – sets off a response from" officials, including "our allies" who have "attacked us."

With the eyes of the world set on Israel, Ya'alon said "this is why we are very careful," in forgoing government policy. "Even ministers in other parties understood this."

Israel's policy, which Ya'alon "fully backs," was lead by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

It’s not the first time that Ya’alon has been heard in an off-the-record conversation making negative comments about the United States. In January he issued an apology to Washington for disparaging remarks he made in a private conversation in which he called US Secretary of State John Kerry “messianic” and “obsessive.” 

When he visited the US in October, he held very few high level meetings. The Israeli media reported that he had been snubbed by US Vice President Joe Biden, National Security Advisor Susan Rice and Kerry. At the time, Ya’alon denied the media allegations and said that his visit was never meant to be a high level trip.

The E1 territory, Ma'aleh Adumim settlement.

In response to Wednesday's Army Radio report, sources close to Ya’alon said the defense minister believes that the US is Israel’s greatest friend and one that it relies on strategically. He also believes, the sources said, that America, and this administration in particular, have contributed to Israel’s security. “The scope and the depth of the strategic cooperation between them is unprecedented,” the sources added.

But they noted that there are a number of disagreements between Israel and the US on several issues.

Although they did not name the issues, it is well known that Washington and Israel do not see eye-to-eye when it comes to building in West Bank settlements or in Jewish neighborhoods of east Jerusalem. 

On Tuesday evening at the Begin-Sadat Center for Strategic Studies in Ramat Gan, US Ambassador to Israel Dan Shapiro said that West Bank settlement building and announcements about such construction are “counterproductive” and only serve to delay the resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

In response to Ya'alon's comments, Meretz leader Zehava Gal-On on Wednesday slammed the government for Israel's actions in the disputed territories in the West Bank which are leading the Jewish state on "the fast track to isolation and ostracism."

"The Israeli government continues to destroy relations with the United States and the Western world," Gal-On stated. "The defense minister and the prime minister are sitting on an explosive barrel and waving the middle finger to the world."

Ya’alon’s statements on the US and West Bank settlement building come in the opening days of a complex election campaign, in which the Likud party must both defend Netanyahu’s ability to maintain Israel’s close ties with the US, while at the same time cater to the right-wing voters who want a government that supports Jewish building in Judea and Samaria as well as areas of Jerusalem over the pre-1967 lines.

Upon hearing the Army Radio report, Yigal Dilmoni, the deputy-head of the Council of Jewish Communities of Judea and Samaria, immediately attacked Ya’alon on his Facebook page. 

Although Ya’alon supports West Bank settlement building, he has angered many in the settlement leadership by enforcing practices which they believe are restrictive of such construction.

Dilmoni, who is now running as a Knesset candidate for the Bayit-Yehudi party said, in a tongue-and-cheek response, “Good morning Mr. Defense Minister, I am glad to hear that you really, really want to build in Judea and Samaria. Wouldn't that be a dream?” 

“I understand you. You are, after all, just the defense minister. You have no authority. The Civil Administration’s Higher Planing Committee has nothing to do with you,” Dilmoni said.

He offered Ya’alon a suggestion: “Lets both pray that the Bayit Yehudi party does very well in the elections. When we are big and strong, we can achieve your dream for you.”