Palestinian Presidency: Balfour Declaration is ‘the crime of the century’

Al-Quds, 3 Safar 1438/3 November 2016 (MINA) –  Marking 99 years since British Foreign Secretary Arthur Balfour promised the Jews a homeland in Palestine, spokesman of Palestinian Presidency Nabil Abu Rudeina on Wednesday blasted the “Balfour Declaration” and called it “the crime of the century.”

The Balfour Declaration was sent on 2 November 1917 by the then-British Foreign Secretary Arthur Balfour to Lord Rothschild for transfer to the leaders of the Zionist Movement and proclaimed Britain’s support for the establishment of a Jewish national home in Palestine, IINA quoted by Mi’raj Islamic News Agency (MINA).

In a statement issued to mark the 99th anniversary of the declaration, Abu Rudeineh said that this “crime” brought disaster upon the Palestinian Arab people, whose consequences, including living as refugees, are evident to this day.

He called on Britain to reconsider its position and correct its “historical mistake” which remains a “mark of Cain on the forehead of humanity”, and constitutes a clear condemnation of the “colonial mentality”, which sowed the seeds of never-ending wars in the region and the world.

Abu Rudeina stressed that the Palestinian leadership would continue to work to correct the injustice through the official recognition of the Palestinian people and their political rights and heritage. (T/R05/R03)

Mi’raj Islamic News Agency (MINA)