The Israeli Defence Minister Moshe Ya’alon has told Washington he did not mean to cause offence in a speech that was critical of US policies, and Israeli officials said they hoped the matter was behind them.In a lecture at Tel Aviv University on Monday, Ya’alon had said the Israelis could not rely on its main ally to take the lead in confronting Iran over its nuclear programme. He also pointed to Ukraine’s crisis as an example of Washington “showing weakness”.US Secretary of State John Kerry later called Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to protest Ya’alon’s comments.