2 nov 2018
A hundred and one year has passed since the notorious Balfour Declaration. A declaration made to those who do not deserve by those who do not own, initiating the first stage of suffering of the Palestinian people over the last 101 years of displacement, torture, and massacres, which resulted in the martyrdom of thousands of them.
The infamous Declaration, under which, the future of an entire people was destroyed, for the benefit of a handful of Jews gathered from the corners of the globe to build a state called Israel on the ruins of Palestine and the ruins of its children and women, including the victims of Deir Yassin, Sabra and Shatila, Kufur Kassem, as well as the bloody massacres committed against the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.
The text of the Declaration
The letter sent by the British Foreign Secretary in 1917 to Lord Rothschild, one of the leaders of the Zionist movement in that period, later known as the Balfour Declaration, was the first step taken by the West to establish a Jewish entity on the soil of Palestine. The British government made a pledge to establish a Jewish state in Palestine in the letter.
This Declaration was issued before the beginning of the British Mandate in Palestine, when the Jewish population was not more than 5%, and was described as “the promise of those who do not own to those who do not deserve,” and Britain did everything in its power to implement this declaration in Palestine.
Here is the text of the Declaration:
Foreign Office
November 2nd, 1917
Dear Lord Rothschild,
I have much pleasure in conveying to you, on behalf of his Majesty’s Government, the following declaration of sympathy with Jewish Zionist aspirations which has been submitted to, and approved by, the Cabinet.
“His Majesty’s Government views with favor the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people, and will use their best endeavors to facilitate the achievement of this object, it being clearly understood that nothing shall be done which may prejudice the civil and religious rights of existing non-Jewish communities in Palestine, or the rights and political status enjoyed by Jews in any other country.”
I should be grateful if you would bring this declaration to the knowledge of the Zionist Federation.
Yours sincerely,
Arthur James Balfour
Millions of Palestinians in the diaspora and liquidation attempts
The ill-reputed declaration by which the State of Israel was established, and the Palestinians were forced to leave their land occupied in 1948, after 31 years of declaration, statistics confirm that about six million Palestinians in the Diaspora suffer the scourge of exile and being away from their homeland.
The 101st anniversary of the notorious Declaration comes at a time of unprecedented dramatic steps to liquidate the Palestinian cause, starting with settlement and land theft, and the announcement by US President Donald Trump of occupied Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, in addition to the siege imposed on Gaza and the devastating wars against it from time to time.
The US president is trying to liquidate the right of return by liquidating the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), trying to limit the number of refugees to 40,000 and prevent the transfer of refugee status to refugee children and their descendants, in addition to the desperate attempts to settle them down. It comes at a time the Jewish national state law was issued.
The anniversary of the Declaration comes in the context of the big rush of Arab regimes in the region towards normalization with Israel, and suspicious attempts to recognize an entity called Israel in the Arab region as a natural entity and a major component of the region.
Observers say in press reports that the declaration of US President Donald Trump of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital is the second face of the Balfour Declaration coin, as the Balfour Declaration gave Palestine as a gift to the Jews while the master of the White House gave Jerusalem as a gift to Israel as an eternal capital.
The suffering of the Palestinian people continues, with the passage of a century and a year since the ominous Declaration; the Palestinians are exposed in all places of their existence to injustice and oppression. Suffering and pain continue to be endured by the Palestinians in the hope that one day they will be allowed to return back to their usurped homeland.
In the besieged Gaza Strip, the Palestinians are taking part on Friday 2/11/2018 in the 32nd week of the Great March of Return, titled “We shall bring down the ominous Declaration.” Palestinians tell the whole world that there is no place for a Jewish homeland in Palestine, and that Palestinians are longing for a long-awaited return and struggling for their right to live in dignity while they still live under a strict siege, which brought much pain and suffering to them.
The Palestinian people in all areas of their presence at home and abroad mark the 101st anniversary of the Balfour Declaration, demanding that Britain should apologize for it, work to resolve the consequences it has wrought, and help the Palestinians return to their homes.
The infamous Declaration, under which, the future of an entire people was destroyed, for the benefit of a handful of Jews gathered from the corners of the globe to build a state called Israel on the ruins of Palestine and the ruins of its children and women, including the victims of Deir Yassin, Sabra and Shatila, Kufur Kassem, as well as the bloody massacres committed against the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.
The text of the Declaration
The letter sent by the British Foreign Secretary in 1917 to Lord Rothschild, one of the leaders of the Zionist movement in that period, later known as the Balfour Declaration, was the first step taken by the West to establish a Jewish entity on the soil of Palestine. The British government made a pledge to establish a Jewish state in Palestine in the letter.
This Declaration was issued before the beginning of the British Mandate in Palestine, when the Jewish population was not more than 5%, and was described as “the promise of those who do not own to those who do not deserve,” and Britain did everything in its power to implement this declaration in Palestine.
Here is the text of the Declaration:
Foreign Office
November 2nd, 1917
Dear Lord Rothschild,
I have much pleasure in conveying to you, on behalf of his Majesty’s Government, the following declaration of sympathy with Jewish Zionist aspirations which has been submitted to, and approved by, the Cabinet.
“His Majesty’s Government views with favor the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people, and will use their best endeavors to facilitate the achievement of this object, it being clearly understood that nothing shall be done which may prejudice the civil and religious rights of existing non-Jewish communities in Palestine, or the rights and political status enjoyed by Jews in any other country.”
I should be grateful if you would bring this declaration to the knowledge of the Zionist Federation.
Yours sincerely,
Arthur James Balfour
Millions of Palestinians in the diaspora and liquidation attempts
The ill-reputed declaration by which the State of Israel was established, and the Palestinians were forced to leave their land occupied in 1948, after 31 years of declaration, statistics confirm that about six million Palestinians in the Diaspora suffer the scourge of exile and being away from their homeland.
The 101st anniversary of the notorious Declaration comes at a time of unprecedented dramatic steps to liquidate the Palestinian cause, starting with settlement and land theft, and the announcement by US President Donald Trump of occupied Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, in addition to the siege imposed on Gaza and the devastating wars against it from time to time.
The US president is trying to liquidate the right of return by liquidating the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), trying to limit the number of refugees to 40,000 and prevent the transfer of refugee status to refugee children and their descendants, in addition to the desperate attempts to settle them down. It comes at a time the Jewish national state law was issued.
The anniversary of the Declaration comes in the context of the big rush of Arab regimes in the region towards normalization with Israel, and suspicious attempts to recognize an entity called Israel in the Arab region as a natural entity and a major component of the region.
Observers say in press reports that the declaration of US President Donald Trump of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital is the second face of the Balfour Declaration coin, as the Balfour Declaration gave Palestine as a gift to the Jews while the master of the White House gave Jerusalem as a gift to Israel as an eternal capital.
The suffering of the Palestinian people continues, with the passage of a century and a year since the ominous Declaration; the Palestinians are exposed in all places of their existence to injustice and oppression. Suffering and pain continue to be endured by the Palestinians in the hope that one day they will be allowed to return back to their usurped homeland.
In the besieged Gaza Strip, the Palestinians are taking part on Friday 2/11/2018 in the 32nd week of the Great March of Return, titled “We shall bring down the ominous Declaration.” Palestinians tell the whole world that there is no place for a Jewish homeland in Palestine, and that Palestinians are longing for a long-awaited return and struggling for their right to live in dignity while they still live under a strict siege, which brought much pain and suffering to them.
The Palestinian people in all areas of their presence at home and abroad mark the 101st anniversary of the Balfour Declaration, demanding that Britain should apologize for it, work to resolve the consequences it has wrought, and help the Palestinians return to their homes.
On this day 101 years ago, the foreign secretary of the United Kingdom Richard Balfour made a promise where he gives Jews a homeland in Palestine. Britain used its colonization of Palestine to support the migration of Zionist gangs and their occupation of Palestine, the Palestinian Forum in Britain (PFB) said in a press release on Friday.
It added, “Although it has been 101 years since the promise was made, the will of the Palestinians has not died down and generation after generation, they have not forgotten their rights and will not let go of their right to their lands.”
The press release said, “We, the Palestinian Forum in Britain, demand that the British government apologize for this promise and withdraw from any actions placed upon it and to help the Palestinians regain their rights and lands as reparation for the crimes committed against the Palestinian people. The land cannot be replaced, not by foreign passports or financial bribes no matter how big!”
“Finally, the Palestinians and those in solidarity with the Palestinian cause all across the world will continue to fight this struggle to regain the rights of the Palestinians back,” the PFB concluded.
It added, “Although it has been 101 years since the promise was made, the will of the Palestinians has not died down and generation after generation, they have not forgotten their rights and will not let go of their right to their lands.”
The press release said, “We, the Palestinian Forum in Britain, demand that the British government apologize for this promise and withdraw from any actions placed upon it and to help the Palestinians regain their rights and lands as reparation for the crimes committed against the Palestinian people. The land cannot be replaced, not by foreign passports or financial bribes no matter how big!”
“Finally, the Palestinians and those in solidarity with the Palestinian cause all across the world will continue to fight this struggle to regain the rights of the Palestinians back,” the PFB concluded.
The Higher National Commission of the Great March of Return and Breaking the Siege has called on the Palestinian masses to join the large-scale rallies set to be staged on Friday, 101 years after the notorious Balfour Declaration saw the day.
The commission said in a Thursday statement that Friday’s protests seek to confirm Palestinians’ commitment to their inalienable rights, most notably the right of return, which has been thwarted by the Balfour promise.
The commission reiterated its calls for upholding non-violent rallies and standing on guard to the Israeli snipers on the Gaza border.
The commission said the rallies also come in response to the simmering Israeli terrorism against the Palestinians and also to draw the world’s attention to the ceaseless Israeli crimes against peaceful Palestinian protesters.
At the same time, the commission hailed the pro-Palestine efforts made by the Egyptian delegates who have recently popped in the besieged Gaza enclave.
Since March 30, thousands of Palestinians have taken part in the Great March of Return protests staged on the Gaza borders so as to speak up for Palestinians’ right of return and push for lifting the oppressive Israeli siege.
At least 228 Palestinian civilians, among them children, have been fatally gunned down by Israeli snipers near Gaza’s border fence. 10 slain protesters have had their bodies withheld by the occupation authorities. As many as 22,000 others have been left injured, including hundreds whose condition has been dubbed extremely critical.
The commission said in a Thursday statement that Friday’s protests seek to confirm Palestinians’ commitment to their inalienable rights, most notably the right of return, which has been thwarted by the Balfour promise.
The commission reiterated its calls for upholding non-violent rallies and standing on guard to the Israeli snipers on the Gaza border.
The commission said the rallies also come in response to the simmering Israeli terrorism against the Palestinians and also to draw the world’s attention to the ceaseless Israeli crimes against peaceful Palestinian protesters.
At the same time, the commission hailed the pro-Palestine efforts made by the Egyptian delegates who have recently popped in the besieged Gaza enclave.
Since March 30, thousands of Palestinians have taken part in the Great March of Return protests staged on the Gaza borders so as to speak up for Palestinians’ right of return and push for lifting the oppressive Israeli siege.
At least 228 Palestinian civilians, among them children, have been fatally gunned down by Israeli snipers near Gaza’s border fence. 10 slain protesters have had their bodies withheld by the occupation authorities. As many as 22,000 others have been left injured, including hundreds whose condition has been dubbed extremely critical.
The Balfour Declaration is null and void and it is a promise made by he who does not own to those who do not deserve,” Hamas's Department of Refugee Affairs (DRA) stated on Friday.
In a press release, the office confirmed that Palestinian refugees’ right to return to their homeland, from which they were forced out in 1948 by Zionist gangs, is not a bargaining chip, adding that this right is sacred for all Palestinian refugees.
“The Palestinian people will not accept partial solutions, such as resettling the refugees in neighboring countries,” the Hamas Refugee Division stressed.
It underscored the option of resistance as the only strategic choice by which the Palestinians can end the occupation, restore their rights, and liberate their holy sites.
Hamas Refugee Department called for protecting the rights of Palestinian refugees everywhere across the globe and to grant them a decent and secure life.
It further called on the Palestinian people to stand on guard in their anti-occupation struggle, urging the Arab and Islamic nations to stand by the Palestinians and speak up for their just cause.
The Refugee Department hailed the Palestinian people in the occupied West Bank, occupied Jerusalem, blockaded Gaza, and the diaspora for standing as bulletproof vests to every single inch of their land and holy sites.
In a press release, the office confirmed that Palestinian refugees’ right to return to their homeland, from which they were forced out in 1948 by Zionist gangs, is not a bargaining chip, adding that this right is sacred for all Palestinian refugees.
“The Palestinian people will not accept partial solutions, such as resettling the refugees in neighboring countries,” the Hamas Refugee Division stressed.
It underscored the option of resistance as the only strategic choice by which the Palestinians can end the occupation, restore their rights, and liberate their holy sites.
Hamas Refugee Department called for protecting the rights of Palestinian refugees everywhere across the globe and to grant them a decent and secure life.
It further called on the Palestinian people to stand on guard in their anti-occupation struggle, urging the Arab and Islamic nations to stand by the Palestinians and speak up for their just cause.
The Refugee Department hailed the Palestinian people in the occupied West Bank, occupied Jerusalem, blockaded Gaza, and the diaspora for standing as bulletproof vests to every single inch of their land and holy sites.
31 oct 2018
The Palestinian Popular Conference for Palestinians Abroad has stated that an ongoing global, legal, and political campaign has been initiated for demanding Britain to bear its legal and political responsibilities, due to the dramatic effects of the Balfour Declaration on the Palestinian people. The declaration is regarded as a crime, by all standards.
The Conference, in its statement, called upon all Palestinians, countries and civil society organizations to supported Palestinian rights by sending letters to British embassies around the world, as well as the British Prime Ministerial office and the British Foreign Office.
The campaign aims at sparing no efforts in achieving Palestinian rights and suppressing the Israeli occupation, and has adopted peaceful and legal measures in order to revive this demand.
The popular conference pointed out, according to Al Ray Palestinian Media Agency, that the Palestinian people live under harsh conditions, directly due to the ongoing Israeli military occupation, which usurped the Palestinians’ lands and expelled its citizens.
The Conference, in its statement, called upon all Palestinians, countries and civil society organizations to supported Palestinian rights by sending letters to British embassies around the world, as well as the British Prime Ministerial office and the British Foreign Office.
The campaign aims at sparing no efforts in achieving Palestinian rights and suppressing the Israeli occupation, and has adopted peaceful and legal measures in order to revive this demand.
The popular conference pointed out, according to Al Ray Palestinian Media Agency, that the Palestinian people live under harsh conditions, directly due to the ongoing Israeli military occupation, which usurped the Palestinians’ lands and expelled its citizens.
6 july 2018
The Israeli Border Authority denied entry to a Swedish peace activist, who started walking to Palestine eleven months ago to raise awareness about the Israeli occupation, and the suffering of the Palestinian people.
The peace activist Benjamin Ladra started his walk on August 8th, 2017, with the aim of informing the world about the situation in Palestine and spread awareness about the Israeli military occupation.
His walk also marked the centennial of the Balfour Declaration of 1917, in which Britain pledged a Jewish homeland in Palestine during the British mandate and occupation of the country.
After being denied entry, he said the officers at the Israeli-controlled crossing with the West Bank interrogated him for six hours, and told him that they believe “he was lying during interrogation,” and that “he would be participating in the protests in Nabi Saleh village,” near Ramallah.
After being denied entry into occupied Palestine, Ladra wrote the following statement on his Facebook account:
The Israelis didn’t allow me to enter Palestine. I was interrogated for about six hours before they told me I was denied entry.
They only gave two reasons for denying me entry, one was that they thought I was lying during the interrogation and the other was that they thought I would go to Nabi Saleh and make a demonstration (which they just assumed).
On this day it has been eleven months of walking and speaking about the human rights violations under the occupation. Now ask yourself why the Israeli state fears one Swedish man so much that they didn’t allow him to enter the country they are occupying. This is the power of activism.
On July 4th he wrote:
Tomorrow I will make the final distance of my journey and arrive at the border of occupied Palestine. There is a big probability that the occupying Israeli soldiers will not let me enter Palestine so i have a favor to ask of everyone if this happens.
My journey has been about raising awareness about the human rights abuses committed under occupation and the media is a very powerful tool for spreading awareness. If they don’t let me in tomorrow it is a very good opportunity to try and get the media around the world to talk about how Israel is blocking human rights activists from entering Palestine.
So, I need everyone to contact as many newspapers, TV stations, News Agencies etc. as possible and share this story. What I did on my walk was to Google ‘country name + media’ and try to find a phone number or email to all the media outlets in all the countries I was walking through. So please be ready on Thursday evening and Friday to see if they didn’t let me in and let the world know that they are hiding their crimes by not allowing people that would bear witness.
The peace activist Benjamin Ladra started his walk on August 8th, 2017, with the aim of informing the world about the situation in Palestine and spread awareness about the Israeli military occupation.
His walk also marked the centennial of the Balfour Declaration of 1917, in which Britain pledged a Jewish homeland in Palestine during the British mandate and occupation of the country.
After being denied entry, he said the officers at the Israeli-controlled crossing with the West Bank interrogated him for six hours, and told him that they believe “he was lying during interrogation,” and that “he would be participating in the protests in Nabi Saleh village,” near Ramallah.
After being denied entry into occupied Palestine, Ladra wrote the following statement on his Facebook account:
The Israelis didn’t allow me to enter Palestine. I was interrogated for about six hours before they told me I was denied entry.
They only gave two reasons for denying me entry, one was that they thought I was lying during the interrogation and the other was that they thought I would go to Nabi Saleh and make a demonstration (which they just assumed).
On this day it has been eleven months of walking and speaking about the human rights violations under the occupation. Now ask yourself why the Israeli state fears one Swedish man so much that they didn’t allow him to enter the country they are occupying. This is the power of activism.
On July 4th he wrote:
Tomorrow I will make the final distance of my journey and arrive at the border of occupied Palestine. There is a big probability that the occupying Israeli soldiers will not let me enter Palestine so i have a favor to ask of everyone if this happens.
My journey has been about raising awareness about the human rights abuses committed under occupation and the media is a very powerful tool for spreading awareness. If they don’t let me in tomorrow it is a very good opportunity to try and get the media around the world to talk about how Israel is blocking human rights activists from entering Palestine.
So, I need everyone to contact as many newspapers, TV stations, News Agencies etc. as possible and share this story. What I did on my walk was to Google ‘country name + media’ and try to find a phone number or email to all the media outlets in all the countries I was walking through. So please be ready on Thursday evening and Friday to see if they didn’t let me in and let the world know that they are hiding their crimes by not allowing people that would bear witness.
24 june 2018
Jeremy Corbyn, the leader of the Labour Party in Britain, visited Palestinian refugee camps in Jordan Saturday and declared that if his party wins the country’s next election (in 2022), he will recognize the Palestinian state.
Corbyn wrote on Twitter, “The next Labour government will recognise Palestine as a state as one step towards a genuine two-state solution to the Israel-Palestine conflict”.
Before his visit to the camps, Corbyn wrote, “Today I’ll visit the Al-Baqa’a refugee camp which was first created in 1968, where 100,000 Palestinians live.”
This is not the first time that the British Labour Party has vowed to recognize Palestinian sovereignty. Most recently, after narrowly losing the 2017 election to Theresa May’s Conservative Party, Corbyn himself spoke in favor of Palestinian statehood.
That statement was made at an event protesting the hundredth anniversary of the Balfour Declaration, which was a declaration made in 1917 by Lord Balfour, the British Governor in Palestine at the time, declaring that the land could serve both as home to its existing residents (Palestinians and a small minority of Samaritans and Jews), and as a homeland for the Jewish people.
In addition to visiting refugees in the Al-Baqa’a camp, Corbyn also went to the Al Zaatari Refugee camp near Jordan’s border with Syria.
He visited the market in Al Zaatari, and also visited a solar power plant.
Corbyn wrote on Twitter, “The next Labour government will recognise Palestine as a state as one step towards a genuine two-state solution to the Israel-Palestine conflict”.
Before his visit to the camps, Corbyn wrote, “Today I’ll visit the Al-Baqa’a refugee camp which was first created in 1968, where 100,000 Palestinians live.”
This is not the first time that the British Labour Party has vowed to recognize Palestinian sovereignty. Most recently, after narrowly losing the 2017 election to Theresa May’s Conservative Party, Corbyn himself spoke in favor of Palestinian statehood.
That statement was made at an event protesting the hundredth anniversary of the Balfour Declaration, which was a declaration made in 1917 by Lord Balfour, the British Governor in Palestine at the time, declaring that the land could serve both as home to its existing residents (Palestinians and a small minority of Samaritans and Jews), and as a homeland for the Jewish people.
In addition to visiting refugees in the Al-Baqa’a camp, Corbyn also went to the Al Zaatari Refugee camp near Jordan’s border with Syria.
He visited the market in Al Zaatari, and also visited a solar power plant.
10 may 2018
The Islamic Resistance Movement Hamas condemned in the strongest terms the British Crown Prince’s projected participation in an Israeli celebration marking the 70th anniversary of the establishment of Israeli occupation entity.
Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhoum said: “By taking part in the Israeli event, Prince Charles turns a blind eye to the displacement and deportation of the Palestinian people, along with the heinous massacres perpetrated by Zionist gangs in 1948 and which were primarily green-lighted by the British government.”
“His participation will be a sign of Britain’s continuous complicity with the Israeli occupation against the Palestinian people”, the statement read. “The participation will certainly give the Israelis green light to continue its crimes and massacres against the Palestinian people, land, and holy sites.”
Hamas called on the Crown Prince to cancel his participation in order not to cause more pain to the people of Palestine and backtrack on the notorious Balfour Declaration, which led to the Nakba.
The movement also called upon the people of Britain to reject the visit, pressure the Prince to rescind his decision, and to speak up for the oppressed Palestinian people.
Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhoum said: “By taking part in the Israeli event, Prince Charles turns a blind eye to the displacement and deportation of the Palestinian people, along with the heinous massacres perpetrated by Zionist gangs in 1948 and which were primarily green-lighted by the British government.”
“His participation will be a sign of Britain’s continuous complicity with the Israeli occupation against the Palestinian people”, the statement read. “The participation will certainly give the Israelis green light to continue its crimes and massacres against the Palestinian people, land, and holy sites.”
Hamas called on the Crown Prince to cancel his participation in order not to cause more pain to the people of Palestine and backtrack on the notorious Balfour Declaration, which led to the Nakba.
The movement also called upon the people of Britain to reject the visit, pressure the Prince to rescind his decision, and to speak up for the oppressed Palestinian people.
