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Israel Rejects Foreign Criticism of Construction Plan near Jerusalem
(Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs) Israel utterly rejects the statement of foreign governments regarding the approval of a construction plan near Jerusalem, its eternal capital, and rejects the attempt to impose foreign dictates upon it. 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. Israel acts in accordance with international law. 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. 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. 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 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. The presumption of foreign governments to speak in the name of what is best for Israelis is an unacceptable pretension.