Israeli Foreign Minister Replies to Condemnation of Jewish Growth

Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Liberman urged the European Union on Saturday to focus on its own problems and stay out of the local dispute between Arabs and Jews over the future of Judea, Samaria, and the rest of Israel.

Vice President of the EU’s European Commission Catherine Ashton said on Friday that she “deeply regrets” Israel’s plans to expand the Jerusalem neighborhood of Gilo.

"Settlements are illegal under international law and threaten to make a two-state solution impossible," she said.

Lieberman replied on Saturday that her statements "attest to a fundamental lack of ability to understand regional reality" and "merely encourage the Palestinian side … to pursue anti-Israel activity in the international sphere".

He suggested the EU "focus, for now, on the problems arising among the various peoples and national groups on Europe's territory, and once there is a successful solution we would be happy to hear recommendations for solving the problems with the Palestinians".