LONDON, November 1, 2017 (WAFA) - More than 60 leading British personalities signed the Balfour Centenary Declaration launched in London on Tuesday by four Parliamentarians - one from each of the main British parties - and Former British Consul General to Jerusalem Sir Vincent Fean.

The Declaration, titled Israel/Palestine: Equal Rights, calls, among other things, for immediate British Government recognition of the State of Palestine along the pre June 1967 lines.

Following is the full text of the Declaration:

“Balfour Centenary Declaration

“Israel/Palestine: Equal Rights

“The centenary of the Balfour Declaration is the time to reconcile peace with justice for both Israelis and Palestinians, consistent with the principle Britain claims as her own: equal rights for all under the law.

“Through the Declaration of 2 November 1917 the British Government decided to facilitate “the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people”, on the explicit understanding that “nothing shall be done which may prejudice the civil and religious rights of existing non-Jewish communities in Palestine”.

“In 1917, and until Britain gave up her Mandate for Palestine in 1948, the Palestinian people were in the majority, as they had been for centuries. The Mandate conferred on Britain a “sacred trust of civilisation” to help the people of Palestine towards self-determination and nationhood. In 1948 the Government handed the problem to the United Nations, and withdrew – but the legacy of that period is still with us. There was joy and sanctuary in Israel for the Jewish people surviving the horrific Holocaust – but pain and despair for the Palestinians: many expelled in 1948, and more occupied in 1967.

“Israel, created in 1948 as the permanent national home of the Jewish people, is recognised as a state by Britain, the EU, the US and – crucially - the PLO, the sole legitimate representative of the Palestinian people. Israel’s prosperity and military strength have grown. But Israel’s 50 year military occupation of Gaza, the West Bank and East Jerusalem prevents the Palestinian people from exercising their own equal and inalienable right to self-determination, a right endorsed by the UN, the EU and our Government.

“This occupation dehumanises both the occupier and the occupied. One people is repressing their neighbouring people, by closing Gaza militarily and transferring 600,000 Israeli settlers illegally into occupied Palestinian territory. Change is urgently needed, delivering equal rights for both peoples.

“We condemn violence from any quarter. But conducting and resisting occupation inevitably mean chronic and sustained violence, stemming from the repression of a people. Inequality does not bring lasting security and prosperity.

“In the best interests of both the Israeli and Palestinian peoples, and in our own national interest, we urge our Government to

-           recognise immediately the State of Palestine alongside the State of Israel on the basis of the pre-June 1967 borders, as two thirds of UN members have done;

-           uphold rigorously the Geneva Conventions which Britain co-wrote and ratified after  World War ll;

-           give practical effect to the relevant UN Security Council Resolutions, the Arab Peace Initiative and the Quartet Roadmap which Britain has endorsed;

-           require genuine freedom of worship without hindrance for all believers – Jewish, Muslim and Christian – at their holy sites in Jerusalem;

-           encourage West Bank/Gaza reunification on the basis of PLO agreements;

-           work with like-minded partners, including France, Germany, Sweden, Belgium and Ireland, to respect and safeguard the rights of both Palestinians and Israelis, with due and proportionate consequences for breaches of those rights, alongside incentives for those seeking to uphold them.

“Ending the 1967 occupation through negotiation will realise the acknowledged right of the Palestinian people to self-determination; a right gained by Israel 70 years ago.  The political and economic cost/benefit calculations of those who oppose this outcome must be challenged. Establishing the Palestinian state, with sustainable international security guarantees both for it and for Israel, will help to stabilise the Middle East region and enhance our own security. The opposite is also true. This inequality supplies oxygen to the propagandists of Islamic State, and contributes to radicalisation both abroad and at home.

“We commit ourselves to work for a secure future of equal rights and peaceful coexistence between the citizens of Israel and Palestine in two states along pre-June 1967 lines.  We support the majorities on both sides of that border who see this outcome as just.

“Britain should uphold her core values by taking the lead to address this bitter, harmful conflict. The Government of the day took a decision in 1917. We now need to acknowledge what is right, and exert political influence to achieve it – for our own good, and the good of the two peoples who will share the Holy Land forever.”

The signatories included:

Rt Hon Jack Straw

Crispin Blunt MP

Tracy Brabin MP

Rt Hon Tom Brake MP

Alan Brown MP

Richard Burden MP

Ruth Cadbury MP

Rt Hon Alistair Carmichael MP

Sarah Champion MP

Joanna Cherry QC, MP

Julie Elliott MP

Rt Hon Dominic Grieve MP

Rt Hon David Jones MP

Graham Jones MP

Pauline Latham MP

Seema Malhotra MP

Lisa Nandy MP

Chi Onwurah MP

Tommy Sheppard MP

Paula Sherriff MP

Andy Slaughter MP

Rt Hon Sir Nicholas Soames MP

Bob Stewart MP

Rt Hon Sir Hugo Swire MP

Dr Philippa Whitford MP

Rt Rev Christopher Chessun, Bishop of Southwark

Lord Alderdice

Baroness Blackstone

Rt Hon Lord Bruce of Bennachie

Rt Hon Lord Cope of Berkeley

Lord Green of Deddington

Lord Griffiths of Burry Port

Rt Hon Lord Hain

Lord Hollick

Lord Hylton

Lord Judd

Baroness Kennedy of The Shaws

Rt Hon Marquess of Lothian

Duke of Montrose

Baroness Morris of Bolton

Rt Hon Baroness Northover

Lord Purvis of Tweed

Baroness Sheehan

Rt Hon Lord Steel of Aikwood

Rt Hon Lord Warner

Rt Hon Baroness Warsi

Lord Wright of Richmond

Prof. James Allan – Emeritus Professor of Eastern Art, University of Oxford

Sir Tony Brenton – Ambassador to Russia (ret’d)

Rev. Iain Cunningham – Convenor, World Mission Council, Church of Scotland

Lady Ellen Dahrendorf

Sir Richard Dalton  - Ambassador to Iran and Consul-General, Jerusalem (ret’d)

Sir Terence English – Surgeon and former Master, St Catherine’s College, Cambridge

Sir Vincent Fean – Consul-General, Jerusalem and Ambassador to Libya (ret’d)

Rev. Richard Frazer – Convenor, Church and Society Council, Church of Scotland

Dr Imad Karam – Executive Director, Initiatives of Change International

Robin Kealy – Ambassador to Tunisia and Consul-General, Jerusalem (ret’d)

Stuart Laing – Master, Corpus Christi College, Cambridge

Ivan McKee – Member of the Scottish Parliament

Peter Oborne – author and journalist

Sir William Patey – Ambassador to Afghanistan and Saudi Arabia (ret’d)

Prof. Avi Shlaim  - Emeritus Professor of International Relations, University of Oxford

Sir Harold Walker – Ambassador to Iraq (ret’d)

Sir Peter Westmacott – Ambassador to the United States (ret’d)

Sandra White – Member of the Scottish Parliament