Israel's Sports and Culture Minister Limor Livnat has left the Netanyahu government red faced after calling the Obama administration "horrible" a day after Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu announced that the security cabinet had approved a partial moratorium on building in the West Bank.

Speaking at a Likud activists' meeting in Beersheba, Livnat said that Israel had "fallen into the hands of a horrible American administration."

She, however, later backed down from her statements, telling the media that she wasn't sure which words she had chosen, but stood by her conviction that the administration was being "hard" on Israel.

"The administration isn't what it once was; it is harder [on us]," The Jerusalem Post quoted Livnat, as saying.

Livnat offered her spin on Netanyahu's decision to freeze the settlements, explaining that she felt uncomfortable.

"I know that the prime minister is in distress. The pressures are great, and it is not easy to stand up to the American president. I know what a campaign of tribulations he placed before the prime minister," she said.

Netanyahu's office quickly denied any connection to Livnat's comments.

"The statements attributed to Livnat don't reflect the prime minister's opinion in any way," the Prime Minister's Office said in an official statement. (ANI)

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