(Witness): 103
years have passed since the Balfour Declaration
A state based on violating international law
And a call to
reconsider Israel's membership in the United Nations
103 years have
passed since the ill-fated Balfour Declaration that the British government gave
to the Jews, which was issued on November 2, 1917, and caused the displacement
of the Palestinian people from the land of their ancestors. Millions
of Palestinian people at home and abroad are still demanding their right to
return to their homes, villages and properties.
The Balfour
Declaration represents the message that Arthur James Balfour, Britain's foreign
secretary at the time, sent to the Jewish Lord Lionel Rothschild, where in it
he referring the British government's
support for the establishment of a national home for the Jews in Palestine that
changed the history of an entire people.
The message of the Balfour
Declaration:
"Dear Lord Rothschild, I am
very pleased to inform you, on behalf of His Majesty's Government, of the
following statement of sympathy for the aspirations of Jews and Zionism, which
has been presented to the Ministry and approved: "The Government of His Majesty looks forward
favorably to the establishment of a national homeland for the Jewish people in
Palestine and will do its utmost to facilitate this end, with the understanding
that it will not be done to undermine the civil and religious rights of the
non-Jewish communities currently residing in Palestine, nor the rights or
political status enjoyed by Jews in other countries. "
Britain established and installed
the Israeli entity on the historical land of Palestine in order to weaken the
Arab people to meet its goals that achieve its ambitions in the Middle East
region, and to preserve and protect its interests, so it has made Israel the
policeman of the Middle East region for Western and European countries
The
insistence of British policy for decades claiming that it sought during the occupation
of Palestine 1917-1948 not to harm the Palestinian people ..., The reality of the
events is what led to the tragic end of this people, but the truth is that the
British policy deliberately deceived and lying, and denied its promises to the
Palestinians and the Arabs, and exercised on the ground procedures that will
lead to disastrous results, and deliberately suppressed the Palestinian people
and deprived them of their aspirations for freedom and independence . And
committed itself to implementing the first part of the Balfour Declaration to
establish a "national homeland for the Jews in Palestine", but did
not abide by its second division, which includes not harming the rights of the
Palestinians, who were at that time about 92% of the population, according to
British estimates themselves. As well as its denial of its role
as a mandate force under the Charter of the League of Nations, namely that the
mandated force would assist the mandated people to build their political,
economic and social institutions and prepare them for independence, which
Britain never committed to the people of Palestine.
We at the Palestinian Association
for Human Rights (witness) emphasize the illegality of this promise for the
following reasons:
1. That
the ominous promise has no legal value and is contrary to the provisions and
rules of international law, because Britain in 1917 was a mandate and
occupation state and did not have a legal status with Palestine. It was not
entitled to relinquish Palestine as a state occupying the Palestinian homeland,
which later became the Mandatory state in 1918.
2. The
declaration is not a treaty and this letter has no legal value, since the
Balfour Declaration grants land on which Britain had no legal association.
Britain did not own Palestine at the time of its issuance. Making this promise
null and void from the point of view of international law and non- binding to
the Palestinians.
3. The
Balfour Declaration is invalid because its content is not legal, since the
subject of the promise is to contract with Zionism to expel the people of
Palestine from their homes and give them to the Jews. One of the bases of international contracting
the legality of the subject of contracting in the sense that the subject matter
of the agreement between the parties is permissible and approved by the
principles of ethics and permitted by law and any contract contrary to one of
these conditions is considered to be canceled and cannot be binding parties. Balfour's
promise is absolutely unacceptable, as it embodies a full violation of the
rights of the Palestinian people, and this is contrary to the principles of
morality and law.
Recommendations:
1. The Balfour Declaration is
contrary to international law, and our people must prosecute and prosecute
Britain, oblige it to apologize and pay compensation for what it has done.
2. Calling upon the international
community to compel the occupying state to implement Resolution 194 on the
return of Palestinians to their villages and cities.
3. To submit a request to reconsider
the membership of the occupying state in the United Nations because it does not
comply with the conditions of membership that came in UN Resolution 181, which
according to it the occupying state is built.
Beirut,
Nov 2, 2020
Palestinian Association for Human Rights (witness)