Netanyahu: Claim that settlements are root of conflict is outlandish

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met Friday with European Union Foreign Representative Federica Mogherini in his Jerusalem office. On the issue of settlements, Netanyahu said: “I reject the outlandish claim that the root of the ongoing conflict is this or that settlement. The issue is not land, but rather our very existence and the refusal to recognize Israel with any borders.”

On Jerusalem, he said that “It is our capital, and as such it is not a settlement. The neighborhoods in which Jews live and in which we are building have existed for almost fifty years, under all Israeli governments. Everyone knows that in any peace settlement, they will remain part of Israel.”