Petition: UK Government Should Apologize to Palestinians for Balfour Declaration
Feb 18 2017 / 8:47 pm
The Balfour Apology Campaign (BAC) has launched a petition which calls on the British government to apologize for the Balfour Declaration that lead to the colonization of Palestine that continues to this day. BAC also called on the British government to lead peace efforts in Palestine.
The campaign, which was initiated by the UK-based Palestinian Return Center (PRC), an organisation that supports the return of the Palestinian diaspora to their national homeland, urged Westminster to acknowledge responsibility for its colonial crimes in Palestine following the infamous declaration.
The Balfour Declaration, issued by the British Government in 1917 by Lord Arthur Balfour, resulted in the mass displacement of the Palestinian people and a century of suffering.
PRC: The Balfour Apology Campaign reaches 1,000 signatures https://t.co/fi7aX0Foc4#Balfour_declaration via PIC @PalinfoEn pic.twitter.com/TQpxS1sqI6
— Palestine Info Centr (@palinfoen) February 18, 2017
According to experts, the Balfour Declaration had no legal authority. It was described by jurist Henry Cattan as “legally void, morally wicked and politically mischievous”.
The BAC invited the British public to sign their petition to force the government to take action and acknowledge its historic responsibility towards the Palestinian people, after playing such a pivotal role in their displacement.
In a statement released on Thursday, the BAC said: “We call on Her Majesty’s Government to openly apologize to the Palestinian people for issuing the Balfour Declaration. The colonial policy of Britain between 1917-1948 led to mass displacement of the Palestinian nation.”
British Government must apologise for the Palestinian People !#BalfourDeclaration #TimeToSaySorry
~https://t.co/Mk2vaPPxLz pic.twitter.com/WRHIH4DIwE— BalfourCampaign (@balfourapology) February 17, 2017
The BAC continued by saying that “HMG should recognize its role during the [League of Nations] Mandate and now must lead attempts to reach a solution that ensures justice for the Palestinian people.”
According to the statement, the campaign aims to impact all sections of society through working with politicians, MPs, media, NGOs, Charities, students and members of the public to raise awareness of Britain’s colonial past and its role in creating the longest standing conflict in modern times.
“No document in Middle Eastern history has had as much influence as the Balfour Declaration on the current plight of the Palestinian people,” the BAC said. “The Balfour Declaration, a 67-word statement is contained in the short letter by the British Foreign Secretary, Lord Arthur Balfour to Lord Rothschild, a leading English Jew, on November 2, 1917.”
The Balfour Declaration “[viewed] with favor” the establishment of a national home for the Jewish people in Palestine, without the consent of the inhabitants of the country, the Palestinian Arabs, who were the majority. In 1917, at the time of the declaration, Palestinians constituted over 90 per cent of the total population.
(MEMO, PC, Social Media)
Britain needs to accept responsibility for the crimes committed against the people of Palestine and help find a real solution that works for the Palestinian people. These people are now living in refugee camps and have no rights as far as the Israeli government goes. Legalizing the theft of privately owned Palestinian land is the last straw. The UN needs to put a stop to what is going on and the world needs to tell the Israeli government enough. The West Bank must be returned o the Palestinian people and Gaza needs to have the blockade stopped immediately.