US has warned its close ally Israel of potential embarrassment after Wikileaks said it will release thousands of classified diplomatic cables that could affect bilateral ties by revealing sensitive assessments made by the American mission in Tel Aviv.

US wants to keep Israel in the loop so that it would not be surprised and would be prepared for publicity that might cause diplomatic embarrassment, daily Ha’aretz reported.

“The Americans said they view the leak very seriously. They don’t know when they will be released on the internet and what exactly they say, but they didn’t want us to read about it in the newspapers,” the paper quoted a senior Israeli official as saying.

The cables reportedly date from the past five years and include media reports, talks with politicians, government officials and journalists, as well as evaluations and various analyses by US diplomats regarding their host countries.

The US Embassy claimed the documents were not highly classified, but the administration did not know the precise content of the cables.

The American message said that if cables from the Embassy in Tel Aviv were released, it could be embarrassing because they relate to relations between Israel and US, which are usually kept confidential.

Kurt Hoyer, spokesman for the US Embassy in Tel Aviv, neither confirmed nor denied that the mission had conveyed a message relating to the matter to Prime Minister’s Bureau and the Foreign Ministry.

However, Hoyer said the release of classified cables from US missions in the world could have serious implications and even affect peoples’ lives.

The US has condemned the expected release of classified documents and was concerned about the impact on its foreign relations.

The US State Department also approached other countries to warn them of the implications of the release of the classified cables.

From a check of their archives, the Americans reportedly believe WikiLeaks might release as many as 400,000 cables.