Israel's response to the EU Foreign Affairs Council conclusions

This one-sided position taken by the EU rewards rejectionism and does not
contribute to promoting a permanent peace agreement.

(Communicated by the Foreign Ministry Spokesman)

Israel regrets the one-sided wording of the EU Foreign Affairs Council
conclusions. Facts and history both prove that Jewish settlement never
constituted an obstacle to peace. Therefore, the EU's focus on this issue is
mistaken.

The root cause of the absence of a peace accord is the Palestinian refusal
to engage in direct negotiations and their unwillingness to recognize Israel
as the nation-state of the Jewish people, as recently exemplified by Mahmoud
Abbas' UN speech and Khaled Mashaal's Gaza speech. This one-sided position
taken by the EU rewards rejectionism and does not contribute to promoting a
permanent peace agreement.