Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman said Monday that Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas was upping his demands of Israel as his legitimacy as the leader of the Palestinians waned.
"As Abu Mazen's authority or legitimacy deteriorates or declines, he raises his demands and toughens his position," Lieberman told Israel Radio, referring to Abbas by his nom de guerre.
Israel Radio reported that he made the comments in response to a recent pledge by Abbas that he would not give up on a "right of return" for Palestinian refugees.
"You need to understand the origin of Abu Mazen's legitimacy," he added.
"When we signed agreements with the Palestinian Authority, we signed with the PA that represented all the Palestinians - today you have Fatah in Judea and Samaria [the West Bank], and Hamastan in Gaza.
"Whom does Abu Mazen represent exactly? In the best case scenario, half of his people."
In the radio interview, Lieberman also dismissed a call by the European Union's foreign policy chief, Javier Solana, for the United Nations to set a deadline for the establishment of a Palestinian state.
"I don't think this is the position of the European Union," he said. "This is simply personal: Javier Solana is about to retire, by the end of the year he will quit his position and his replacement is meant to come."
Lieberman added: "Every person before their departure tries to come out with a few declarations, to be remembered for something, to leave something behind. But the fact of the matter is that everyone knows precedents here in the region are not achieved by coercion, but only by direct dialogue between the sides."
PA official Saeb Erakat, for his part, said that Lieberman's comments are inappropriate and unacceptable.
"Only yesterday Prime Minister Netanyahu invited President Abbas to meet him, and today Lieberman says he is irrelevant," Erakat said.
He added that Lieberman is trying to paint a picture as if Israel has no partner for peace so as to avoid progress in the peace process.
The Palestinian President's spokesman, Nabil Abu Rudeina, said that Lieberman's comments are dangerous and are intended to foil international efforts to advance the peace process.
