In a forceful and unequivocal statement, the Foreign Ministry on Friday rejected a joint condemnation from a group of foreign ministers regarding the construction plan for the E1 area, which connects Jerusalem and Ma’ale Adumim.
The statement began by declaring, “Israel utterly rejects the statement of the foreign ministers regarding the approval of a construction plan near Jerusalem, its eternal capital, and rejects the attempt to impose foreign dictates upon it.”
The ministry went on to defend the Jewish people's deep-rooted connection to the land. “The historic right of Jews to live anywhere in the Land of Israel - the birthplace of the Jewish people - is indisputable. There is no other nation in the world that has a stronger, longer-standing, and better-documented connection to its land than the Jewish people has to the Land of Israel, and this connection and right do not require the affirmation of foreign governments.”
The Foreign Ministry’s statement emphasized that Israel is acting in full accordance with international law, citing the historic foundations of the Jewish homeland. “The establishment of a Jewish state in the Jewish people's ancient homeland, including the settlement by Jews on the land, was clearly recognized in the British Mandate, which was adopted by the League of Nations in 1922. The adoption of the 1917 Balfour Declaration into the Mandate was expressly agreed in the 1920 San Remo Conference. Under the Mandate, the right of the Jewish people to build their national home extended to the entire territory of 'Mandatory Palestine.' These rights were preserved under Article 80 of the UN Charter.”
The ministry also called out the discriminatory nature of the foreign ministers’ demands. “There is no restriction for Arabs to reside in any part of the State of Israel, and a call to deny Jews - and Jews alone - the right to reside in certain areas of the State of Israel has a name: racism.”
The statement continued to debunk the historical fallacies often used against Israel. “The Jewish people are the indigenous people of the Land of Israel. At no point in history has there ever been a Palestinian state, and any attempt to argue otherwise has no legal, factual, or historical basis.”
Rejecting the claim that the construction plan would impede a future Palestinian state, the ministry dismissed the notion as a foreign-imposed fantasy. “Regardless of the absurdity of the claim regarding the future consequences of the decision - Israel rejects the external attempt to impose a jihadist terror state in the heart of Israel.”
Finally, the ministry concluded its powerful response with a firm stance on Israel's sovereignty and democratic governance. “The State of Israel is governed by a democratically elected government, which acts to promote the interests of the citizens of Israel. The presumption of foreign governments to speak in the name of what is best for Israelis is an unacceptable pretension in international relations.”
The statement comes a day after a group of some 20 countries issued a letter strongly opposing Israel’s move to approve new construction in E1.
British Foreign Secretary David Lammy on Wednesday blasted Israeli plans to build homes in the E1 area, calling the planned construction “a flagrant breach of international law.”
Lammy said in a statement that the E1 plans, if implemented, "would divide a Palestinian state in two, mark a flagrant breach of international law and critically undermine the two-state solution".
"The Israeli government must reverse this decision," he added.
A German government spokesman said that “settlement construction” violated international law and "hinders a negotiated two-state solution and an end to the Israeli occupation of the West Bank".
The remarks came after the Civil Administration approved the advancement of the E1 project as well as progress on formally recognizing the town of Asael. The E1 project was officially announced last Thursday during a press conference led by Smotrich.
While European countries have condemned the construction, US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee said that "this is not a violation of international law."
"We will not dictate to Israel what to do, we will not interfere in the running of the country. It would be very strange to say that others can live in this area but Israelis cannot," Huckabee said in an interview with Galei Tzahal (IDF Radio).
The US State Department similarly said that the construction of Jewish houses in E1 supports Israel's security and is in line with the administration's goals.
(Israel National News' North American desk is keeping you updated until the start of Shabbat in New York. The time posted automatically on all Israel National News articles, however, is Israeli time.)