RAMALLAH, November 2, 2017 (WAFA) – On the occasion of the centenary of the Balfour Declaration, the Presidency called on Thursday upon the United Kingdom to apologize to the Palestinian people for the suffering caused as a result of the Balfour Declaration a hundred years ago.

The presidency also called on the government of the UK to recognize the State of Palestine on this sorrowful occasion.

“The second day of November marks the centennial of the disastrous Balfour Declaration, which, in 1917, the British government gave the Jews of the world a national homeland in Palestine while it is aware that Palestine is owned and inhabited by another people, the Palestinian people,” said the presidential statement. “The British Government did not mention in this null and void promise the indigenous and legitimate owners of the country, but it considered them as sects with civil and religious rights, and did not refer to their national and political rights.”

The statement went on to say: “The Palestinian people have suffered as a result of this promise, which later became part of the Mandate’s legal instrument and the Charter of the League of Nations turning it into a binding resolution as a result of the British government complicity. They suffered many disasters, most notably the 1948 Nakba, which displaced most of the country‘s indigenous population from their homes.

“Since then, the suffering and tragedies of the Palestinian people have not stopped, whether inside what was left of the land of Palestine, which is now has been under occupation for 50 years, since 1967, or in the Diaspora and exile (refugee) camps.

“The British government, which issued the Balfour Declaration and the subsequent British governments, including the government of Theresa May, bear the primary responsibility for the displacement and suffering of the Palestinian people.

“If it wasn’t for the Balfour promise, the peaceful Palestinian people would not have been uprooted from their land. What is troubling today is that, and in spite of our demand that it shows respect for the feelings of the Palestinian people, the British Government insists on celebrating the 100th anniversary of the Balfour Declaration, persisting to openly confirm its colonial policies against our Palestinian people.

“We therefore reiterate our call upon the British government to publicly apologize to the Palestinian people for issuing the Balfour Declaration and to bear the consequences of making that promise by compensating the Palestinian people politically, materially and morally, recognize the State of Palestine and work toward ending the occupation from our land just as it sponsored the occupation state, Israel, on the land of Palestine.

“We reaffirm once again that we will employ all available political and legal means in demanding that the British government bear the consequences resulting from issuing this ominous promise. In this context, we applaud the honest and the free people who are coming out in the world capitals and cities to protest and denounce this promise and British colonial policy. We also salute the courage of many British personalities, including members of the British House of Commons, who demand that their government recognize the state of Palestine.

“We also salute our Palestinian people in Palestine and abroad for their activities that express their rejection and condemnation of British policy and this ominous promise.”

M.N./M.K.