Criticism of the Obama Administration’s decision to slam longtime-American ally Israel took a prominent bipartisan turn today, as Senator John Kerry (D-MA) joined with Republicans to call for an end to talks about settlement freezes.

Kerry, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, is among powerful lawmakers who decided to meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

“I think what’s important now is not to get stuck on the issue of the settlement freeze,” Kerry told The Cable. “I think what’s important is to get to the table and discuss the final-status talks as rapidly as possible.”

Kerry noted that calling for a full settlement freeze has been official U.S. policy for years, under both Democratic and Republican administrations. But he said that was just not the most important thing on the table at this point.

“I think the focus ought to be on the talks themselves,” he said. “The clock is ticking and that ticking clock works against Israel’s security and it works against our interests in the region.”

The Obama Administration has been forced to back down somewhat over the past few days, though it remains on the offensive against the Jewish state. Obama himself will meet with Netanyahu today, but the event is closed to press and is being kept as quiet as possible.