PA prime minister attacks “historical injustice” of Balfour Declaration, claiming it "inflicted expulsion, theft of resources, and negation of legitimate rights"
Text posted on the Facebook page of PA Prime Minister Muhammad Shtayyeh
Posted text: “On the 104th anniversary of the cruel Balfour Promise (i.e., Declaration), which was given by one who has no ownership to one who has no right to Palestine, we remind the world that this promise – and as a result of it, the historical injustice that was inflicted on our people that included expulsion, theft of resources, and the negation of its legitimate rights – necessitates taking responsibility to allow our people to realize its rights that are represented by independence, freedom, and return."
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 favor of partitioning Mandatory Palestine into a Jewish state and an Arab state in 1947. In response, Britain ended its mandate on May 15, 1948, and the Palestinian Jews, who accepted the Partition Plan, declared the independent State of Israel. The Palestinian Arabs rejected the plan and together with 7 Arab states attacked Israel, in what is now known as Israel's War of Independence.