Celebrations broke out in the Philippines Wednesday after a Filipina who has spent nearly half her life as a carer overseas won Israel's first "X Factor" competition.

Rose Fostanes, one of millions of Filipinos working abroad, won the television talent show late Tuesday with a rendition of Frank Sinatra's "My Way" that delighted fans in both countries.

Israel's defense minister may have apologized for his offensive comments about U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry but his outburst could see him marginalized by Washington, commentators warned on Wednesday.

A furious diplomatic row erupted between Israel and its closest ally on Tuesday when Defense Minister Moshe Yaalon was quoted as saying Kerry had an "obsession" about the peace process and was working out of a "sense of messianism."

U.S. State Secretary John Kerry on Wednesday downplayed the impact of offensive comments by Israeli Defense Minister Moshe Yaalon against him, saying he will not allow the slur to affect peace efforts.

A diplomatic row erupted between Israel and Washington on Tuesday after Yaalon was quoted as saying Kerry had an "obsession" and a "sense of messianism" about the peace process.

Suspected Jewish extremists torched the entrance to a mosque in the West Bank early on Wednesday, in an apparent revenge attack for Palestinians beating and detaining Israeli settlers last week.

The attackers scrawled "Arabs out" and "Revenge for blood spilled in Qusra" in Hebrew on the walls of the mosque in Deir Istiya village, which lies next to the sprawling Ariel settlement in the northern West Bank, an AFP correspondent said.

Israeli troops crossed on Wednesday the Blue Line border in southern Lebanon, announced the Army Command in a statement.

It said that at 7:22 am on Wednesday, eight soldiers crossed the Blue Line at the Mais al-Jabal region and walked 20 meters into Lebanese territory.

Israel's Minister of Defense Moshe Yaalon apologized Tuesday to U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry after he accused the American of having an "obsession" with Middle East peace, sparking a furious diplomatic row between the two allies.

The White House had described Defense Minister Moshe Yaalon's initial comments as "offensive," in a mark of the degree of outrage in Washington at the latest public spat between the two countries, which follows a major row over Iran policy.

A senior U.S. official on Tuesday urged Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to publicly disavow a complaint by Israel's defense minister that John Kerry has a messianic "obsession" with Middle East peace.

The official made the highly unusual demand as fresh tension erupted between the governments of President Barack Obama and of Netanyahu after the minister, Moshe Yaalon, was quoted as branding the U.S. secretary of state, who has made 10 trips to Israel since March, a nuisance.

The White House reacted angrily Tuesday after Israel's defense minister attacked what he called U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry's "obsession" with Middle East peace.

President Barack Obama's spokesman Jay Carney said Moshe Yaalon's remarks "if accurate, are offensive and inappropriate, especially in the light of everything Secretary Kerry is doing to support Israel's security needs."

Israeli police pulled over the convoy of Palestinian premier Rami Hamdallah on Tuesday for "reckless driving" in a move the Ramallah government blasted as harassment, saying he was deliberately targeted.

"An Israeli military vehicle accompanied by police and settlers stopped Rami Hamdallah's convoy today between Ramallah and Nablus," government spokesman Ihab Bseiso told reporters in Ramallah, saying the convoy was held up for about an hour.

Israel's defense minister has lashed at U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, saying a security plan he presented is "not worth the paper it was written on," an Israeli newspaper reported Tuesday.

"The American plan for security arrangements that was shown to us... provides neither security nor peace," Moshe Yaalon was quoted by Yediot Aharonot as saying.