As time for an extension to Middle East peace talks runs out, the United States is ramping up threats against Israel. In an April 25 closed-door meeting, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said Israel was limited to two options: Either establish peace with the Palestinians through a two-state peace process, or become an apartheid state.

Kerry’s comments are not the first time Washington has attacked Israel with thinly veiled threats. On February 1, Israeli politicians accused Kerry of encouraging boycotts against the Jewish state after he made comments on the growing momentum of the delegitimization campaign. Friday’s comments contained the same message for Israel.

Apartheid is most often used in reference to South Africa, where a minority white government segregated itself from the black population. The international community responded to this segregation by launching a massive boycott and sanctions campaign that eventually toppled the white government and led to a complete overhaul of the nation. Now apartheid is being used to describe Israel’s day-to-day life with the Palestinians.

“A two-state solution will be clearly underscored as the only real alternative. Because a unitary state winds up either being an apartheid state with second-class citizens—or it ends up being a state that destroys the capacity of Israel to be a Jewish state,” Kerry threatened. “Once you put that frame in your mind, that reality, which is the bottom line, you understand how imperative it is to get to the two-state solution, which both leaders, even yesterday, said they remain deeply committed to.”

Combine this statement with comments made in the past by Kerry about the possibility of boycotts and sanctions down the road, and the true intent of the statement becomes apparent: It is a peace deal with the Palestinians or economic strangulation and complete government overhaul.

The tide of anti-Israel boycotts and sanctions has been growing, particularly in the entertainment and educational institutions of America. Now, however, it is being used by the government in an attempt to ramrod a peace agreement that is clearly not ready.

It was only last week that Israel’s negotiating partner, the Palestinian Authority, made a reconciliation pact with Hamas. Hamas is recognized by much of the world, including the U.S., as a terrorist organization. The Hamas charter itself is rife with anti-Israel hatred. For example, Hassan al Banna, a man respected by Hamas as a forefather, is quoted, “Israel will rise and will remain erect until Islam eliminates it as it had eliminated its predecessors.”

Yet the U.S. berates Israel for calling an end to the peace process, then proceeds to threaten a future of sanctions against an apartheid Israeli regime.

This borderline political blackmail is indicative of the relationship that now exists between Washington and Jerusalem. Fueled by Washington’s bullying tactics, the relationship between these historically strong allies is taking a sharp turn for the worse. It was only in 2008, when then-senator Barack Obama said, “There’s no doubt that Israel and the Palestinians have tough issues to work out to get to the goal of two states living side by side in peace and security, but injecting a term like apartheid into the discussion doesn’t advance that goal. It’s emotionally loaded, historically inaccurate, and it’s not what I believe.”

The relationship between Israel and America is under intense strain. America’s relationship with its strongest ally in the Middle East is dissolving. Voices that once spoke of the ties that bind the two nations now threaten and bully with talk of measures that would bring down the government.

The threats Washington is uttering today are pushing both nations further apart. Sadly, this broken alliance is promised to come at a time of terrible trouble for Israel.

For more on the growing threat of boycotts and sanctions against Israel, read “Sanctioning Israel: the Next South Africa?”