PLO official: Celebrating 100 years since the Balfour Declaration turns Britain into an “enemy of the principles of justice and humanity”
Headline: “Al-Agha: Britain’s insistence on celebrating the Balfour Promise will lead to [Britain] being put on trial”
“The PLO Department for Refugee Affairs yesterday [Oct. 19, 2017] condemned the British government’s announcement [that it will be] celebrating the 100th anniversary of the issuing of the Balfour Promise (i.e., Declaration), which falls will take place on Nov. 2, 2017, which caused damage to the Palestinian people that was expressed by massacres, its e xpulsion from its homes, lands, and property, and its expulsion to the refugee camps and to the diaspora.
In a statement yesterday, PLO Executive Committee member and Director of the Department for Refugee Affairs Dr. Zakariya Al-Agha opposed the British government’s declaration [that it will be] marking the 100th anniversary of the Balfour Promise, and its call to senior Israeli officials to participate in the celebration ceremony. He noted that the announcement of the ceremony is considered a blow to the Palestinian people, and it turns Britain into an enemy of the principles of justice and humanity. This is particularly so because the Balfour Promise, from since it was issued until this moment, for the first time in history perpetuated the rule of force, injustice, and denial of the rights of peoples. He emphasized that Britain’s refusal to apologize and its insistence on holding a ceremony with senior Israeli officials on the 100th anniversary of the Balfour Promise will be met by official Palestinian action, by putting Britain on trial and dealing with this case before the international courts. This is if Britain will not take back its opposition to apologizing and acknowledging that the Balfour decision was a historical mistake – a mistake that must be corrected through an apology to the Palestinian people, and a declaration of recognition of its fully sovereign independent state within the borders of June 4, 1967, whose capital is East Jerusalem.”
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The Balfour Declaration of Nov. 2, 1917 was a letter from British Foreign Secretary Arthur Balfour to Baron Rothschild stating that “His Majesty's government views with favour the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people.” In 1922, the League of Nations adopted this and made the British Mandate “responsible for putting into effect the declaration,” which led to the UN vote in 1947 and the establishment of the State of Israel.
“The PLO Department for Refugee Affairs yesterday [Oct. 19, 2017] condemned the British government’s announcement [that it will be] celebrating the 100th anniversary of the issuing of the Balfour Promise (i.e., Declaration), which falls will take place on Nov. 2, 2017, which caused damage to the Palestinian people that was expressed by massacres, its e xpulsion from its homes, lands, and property, and its expulsion to the refugee camps and to the diaspora.
In a statement yesterday, PLO Executive Committee member and Director of the Department for Refugee Affairs Dr. Zakariya Al-Agha opposed the British government’s declaration [that it will be] marking the 100th anniversary of the Balfour Promise, and its call to senior Israeli officials to participate in the celebration ceremony. He noted that the announcement of the ceremony is considered a blow to the Palestinian people, and it turns Britain into an enemy of the principles of justice and humanity. This is particularly so because the Balfour Promise, from since it was issued until this moment, for the first time in history perpetuated the rule of force, injustice, and denial of the rights of peoples. He emphasized that Britain’s refusal to apologize and its insistence on holding a ceremony with senior Israeli officials on the 100th anniversary of the Balfour Promise will be met by official Palestinian action, by putting Britain on trial and dealing with this case before the international courts. This is if Britain will not take back its opposition to apologizing and acknowledging that the Balfour decision was a historical mistake – a mistake that must be corrected through an apology to the Palestinian people, and a declaration of recognition of its fully sovereign independent state within the borders of June 4, 1967, whose capital is East Jerusalem.”
Click to view bulletin
The Balfour Declaration of Nov. 2, 1917 was a letter from British Foreign Secretary Arthur Balfour to Baron Rothschild stating that “His Majesty's government views with favour the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people.” In 1922, the League of Nations adopted this and made the British Mandate “responsible for putting into effect the declaration,” which led to the UN vote in 1947 and the establishment of the State of Israel.
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