Israel responds to the European Union, Britain and the 21 countries that condemned the construction plan in Mevaseret Adumim 1E. And here is how it responds:
“Israel categorically 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 on it.
The historic right of Jews to live anywhere in the Land of Israel – the birthplace of the Jewish people – is indisputable. No other nation in the world has a stronger, longer-standing and better documented connection to its land than the Jewish people to the Land of Israel, and this connection and right do not require the approval of foreign governments* (emphasis added).
Israel acts in accordance with international law. The establishment of a Jewish state in the ancient homeland of the Jewish people, including the settlement of Jews in the land, was clearly recognized in the British Mandate, adopted by the League of Nations in 1922. The adoption of the Balfour Declaration of 1917 into the Mandate was explicitly agreed upon at the San Remo Conference in 1920. Within the framework of the Mandate, the right of The right of the Jewish people to build their national home was extended to the entire territory of “Mandatory Palestine.” These rights were preserved under Article 80 of the UN Charter.