UK declaring Hamas a terror organization is “stupid,” says PLO official
Headline: “Tayseer Khaled: The declaration of Hamas as a terror organization increases many times over Britain’s responsibility for the crimes against the Palestinians”
“PLO Executive Committee member and Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine (DFLP) Political Bureau member Tayseer Khaled said that the decision to declare the Hamas Movement a terror organization is stupid (refers to the British announcement on Nov. 19, 2021, that it will recognize all of Hamas including its political bureau as a terror organization -Ed.). He called on the British government to recant this decision, which constitutes a blind biasin favor of the aggressive policy of expansion that is hostile to peace, according to which the governments of Israel act…
He emphasized that this is liable to encourage the government of Israel – which rushed to welcome the decision of British Secretary [of State for the] Home [Office Priti Patel] – to continue its attacks against the Palestinian people and continue violating international law and the resolutions of the international institutions. He added that this increases many times over Britain’s responsibility for the ongoing crimes against the Palestinian people since the issuing of the British Balfour Declaration (see note below -Ed.) more than 100 years ago.”
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.