US Vice President Joe Biden has called on Israel to stop the demolitions of homes of Palestinians accused of violence and killings, saying the practice is “collective punishment”.

Speaking at the Saban Forum in Washington — an institution based on funding from a fervent supporter of Israel — Biden also criticized expansion of Jewish settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem and called on the Netanyahu Government to do more to stop “vigilante justice” attacks against Palestinians.

Biden made the challenges within the context of America’s firm support for Israel, calling the issues “tactical disagreements” which “should be honestly discussed between friends”. He said that he and President Obama had “an obligation to match the steel and the spine that the Israeli people show when it comes to the country’s security”: “There is no daylight between us.”

The Vice President did not refer to the prospect of early elections in Israel in March; however, he gave backing to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, “although we drive each other crazy”.