Via Times of Israel:

The Israeli government on Wednesday accused the White House of lying by denying that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had requested to meet US President Barack Obama later this month in the US.

The accusation will likely serve to further escalate diplomatic tensions between the two countries, which have ramped up in recent days.

“We requested a meeting on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York and also suggested that the prime minister could come to Washington,” for a meeting, a senior government official in Jerusalem told the German DPA news agency on Wednesday.

White House spokesman Tommy Vietor had said earlier that no such request was made or rejected.

On Tuesday evening, after reports surfaced claiming Obama refused to meet Netanyahu during his short US trip later this month — reportedly due to a scheduling issue — it seemed like bilateral relations were headed toward a serious crisis.

But later that night, the president called Netanyahu and the two leaders spoke for about an hour, seemingly calming the situation.