Israel responds to Palestinian challenging UK on legality of Balfour Declaration

 

Israel’s Ambassador to the U.K. Mark Regev and former Director General of Israel’s Foreign Ministry, Dore Gold will be attending a House of Commons event in defense of the historic Balfour Declaration, which is being challenged by the Palestinian leadership.

By Shlomo Cesana

 

Former Foreign Ministry Director General Dore Gold (pictured above) and Israeli Ambassador to the U.K. Mark Regev were expected to speak in the House of Commons on Tuesday at an event called “Refuting Balfour’s Detractors.” The event comes 99 years after British Foreign Secretary Lord Arthur James Balfour wrote his historic letter stating that his government views “with favor the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people.”

In July, Palestinian Foreign Minister Riad Malki said the Palestinian Authority would file a lawsuit against the United Kingdom over the 1917 letter, considered a major diplomatic milestone in the history of the Zionist movement.

Portrait of Lord Balfour, along with his famous declaration. – Photo courtesy: Wikimedia Commons

In the wake of Malki’s statement, the pro-Palestinian group Palestinian Return Center launched the “Balfour Apology Campaign” in October at an event held in the House of Lords.

“As the 100th year since the Balfour Declaration approaches, the Palestinian Return Center has decided to relaunch its campaign which started in 2013, called Balfour Apology Campaign, which asks the U.K. government to officially apologize for its past colonial crimes in Palestine,” the center said. The center has been accused by Israel of being linked to Hamas, but has denied any ties to the terrorist organization.

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View original Israel Hayom publication at:
http://www.israelhayom.com/site/newsletter_article.php?id=38385