Israel's Prime Minister says personal attacks on him from the United States are merely because he is "defending Israel."

Benjamin Netanyahu's remarks to parliament on Wednesday, Oct 29, were followed a report in The Atlantic this week in which unidentified U.S. officials lambasted the Israeli PM for his settlement policies.

Netanyahu says those who attack him don't have Israel's best interests in mind and do so "only because I defend Israel."

He vowed to carry on with his policies despite the pressure.

There are concerns of a new crisis in Israeli-U.S. relations after U.S. officials said the Obama administration last week refused Israeli Defense Minister Moshe Yaalon's requests to meet several top national security aides. The rejection followed negative comments Yaalon made about Secretary of State John Kerry.