Netanyahu's no to Obama no big deal but impolite

Israel would have shown good manners had it informed the United States directly rather than through the news media that it was turning down a proposed summit meeting with US President Barack Obama, the White House said on Tuesday.

But spokesman Josh Earnest said there was "no offense taken" by the decision which Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday ascribed to a desire to steer clear of the US presidential election campaign.

It was the latest episode in a fraught relationship between the Israeli leader and Obama that has yet to recover from deep differences over last year's nuclear deal with Iran.