Israel on Wednesday played down the impact of an espionage affair following the arrest in New York of a US Army veteran charged with passing defence secrets to the Jewish state nearly 30 years ago.

"This affair is a momentary embarrassment, but it will not harm the privileged relations between Israel and the United States," a government official told AFP, asking not to be named.

"Neither of the two countries has any interest in poisoning things," the official said, adding that US President George W. Bush and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice were both due to visit Israel at the beginning of May.

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"Their wish is to facilitate an Israeli-Palestinian accord before the end of Bush's mandate and a crisis would only compromise this project," the official added.

On Tuesday the US authorities announced the arrest of army veteran Ben-Ami Kadish, 84, on charges that he disclosed secret defence information, including on nuclear weapons, to Israel in a case linked to the 1980s Jonathan Pollard spy scandal.

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