As U.S.-Israel rift continues, Netanyahu finds himself in a bind

Accomplishing that will prove difficult if Jerusalem remains a flash point between the United States and Israel in the coming months. The demands Obama presented to Netanyahu included continuing a partial settlement freeze once a 10-month moratorium expires later this year and expanding it to East Jerusalem, according to Yedioth Ahronoth, Israel's largest daily.

Beilin said Netanyahu understands, perhaps better than some of his Likud predecessors, that even if he believes "he is 100 percent right and the world is 100 percent wrong" on Jerusalem, "he cannot go on and destroy the relationships with the whole world."

But the prime minister is under fire not just abroad. He is also facing criticism at home.

On Friday, demonstrators plan to gather in Tel Aviv to protest the government's decision to block construction of an underground hospital emergency room in the city of Ashkelon, a move meant to appease an ultra-Orthodox coalition member who had threatened to resign because the facility would be built on an ancient cemetery.

The underground wing of Barzilai hospital was being built to protect patients from rockets fired from the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip. Netanyahu's decision to block the construction led to the resignation of the Health Ministry's director general.

"People are really angry," said Nitzan Horowitz, an organizer of the protest and a member of the Israeli parliament from the secular Meretz party. "The coalition games Netanyahu is playing we simply can't accept."

Special correspondent Samuel Sockol contributed to this report.