DayofPal– As the world witnesses the ongoing extermination and devastation of the Gaza Strip and the relentless grip of the Israeli occupation government tightening over Palestinian land, the Palestinian calender marks an ominous date: the 107th anniversary of the Balfour Declaration.
This landmark statement, viewed as a bedrock for the establishment of the Israeli Zionist state on historical Palestinian territory, marked the onset of a prolonged struggle against the Palestinian presence—an ordeal that echoes through time and continues to unfold today.
The history and circumstances of the Palestinian cause cannot be understood without referring to the British promise, which was a gamble with a whole land, people, and civilization that was seized by Western colonial powers and handed over to the Zionist movement. How did this happen?
The Outset of Conspiracy
After World War I, the victorious Allied powers took control of the Levant, Iraq, and Egypt following the defeat of the Ottoman Empire.
Britain and France divided these territories through secret agreements like the Sykes-Picot Agreement. Consequently, Palestine, Jordan, and Iraq came under British mandate, while France governed Syria and Lebanon.
This period saw the rise of the Zionist movement in Europe and the United States. In the late 19th century, Theodor Herzl proposed establishing a Jewish homeland in Palestine, drawing on religious and colonial economic motivations that aligned with broader Western colonial efforts.
The project was officially announced at the First Zionist Congress held in Basel, Switzerland, in 1897.
The Zionist movement sought to finance its goals by offering significant sums to Ottoman Sultan Abdul Hamid II for land in Palestine, but the Sultan firmly rejected the proposal.
Despite this setback, the movement remained hopeful in pursuing its ambitions.
In 1917, British forces defeated the Ottoman Empire and took control of Palestine, capturing cities until they reached Jerusalem.
This presented a pivotal opportunity for the Zionist movement, which strengthened ties with the British government and garnered Western support for establishing a Jewish homeland to address Jewish issues in Europe.
Even before the war officially ended, British Foreign Secretary James Arthur Balfour was sent on November 2, 1917, as a representative of Prime Minister Lloyd George to negotiate with the Zionist movement regarding its demands in Palestine.
Subsequently, the British government convened a meeting with representatives of the Zionist movement, who pressed for the right to establish a national homeland in Palestine.
On November 2, 1917, Balfour sent his historic letter to Lord Lionel Rothschild, leader of the Jewish community in Britain. In this letter, he expressed that “His Majesty’s Government views with favor the establishment of a national home for the Jewish people in Palestine” and pledged to do its utmost to facilitate this aim.
However, he emphasized that this endeavor must not undermine the civil and religious rights of the existing non-Jewish communities, meaning indigenous Palestinians, nor affect the rights and political status of Jews in other countries.
Simultaneously, the Zionist movement worked to engage Jews from Germany in their immigration efforts to Palestine. By early 1918, the British government dispatched a delegation to Palestine to assess the feasibility of fulfilling the promise.
Shortly thereafter, they shared the text of the Balfour Declaration with former U.S. President Woodrow Wilson, who endorsed it before its public release. This significant document was also officially accepted by both France and Italy, marking a crucial step in the Zionist agenda.
A Global Mandate for Balfour Promis Implementation
Chaim Weizmann emerged as a key figure in British forces in Palestine, taking a personal interest in the intricacies of the Balfour Declaration.
By 1920, he had risen to lead the Zionist movement and later became the president of the occupying state in 1949.
Weizmann was instrumental in orchestrating the influx of Jewish immigrants to Palestine, facilitating the appropriation of communal lands for the establishment of kibbutzim, and providing crucial support to Zionist militias with both weapons and funding.
In 1920, the Allied Powers gathered for the San Remo Conference in Italy to solidify the partitioning of the region. A Jewish delegation, including Weizmann, Herbert Samuel—a member of the House of Lords—and Nahum Sokolow, played a pivotal role in converting the Balfour Declaration from a mere promise into a legal framework under the British mandate for Palestine.
The official announcement of a national home for the Jews in Palestine came on April 24, 1920, alongside the formation of a civil government.
Samuel was appointed High Commissioner for Palestine that June and sought to establish a legislative council in line with the mandate’s provisions, but the Palestinian population chose to boycott the elections.
Just four months later, the British administration approved the first formal decree allowing Jewish immigration to Palestine.
Shortly after, the League of Nations, now known as the United Nations, ratified the British mandate for Palestine, reaffirming the Balfour Declaration.
Leading up to the Nakba in 1948, British and Western backing for the Zionist movement intensified, facilitating the establishment of settlements and the formation of armed groups.
By the time the partition plan for Palestine was announced in 1947, these militias had transformed into a formidable military force, committing acts of ethnic cleansing across Palestinian villages and towns.
In a decisive move, British Defense Minister Arthur Jones announced the end of the mandate over Palestine, signaling a transfer of responsibility to the United States.
On May 15, 1948, Britain recommended the termination of the mandate and the establishment of both Jewish and Palestinian states.
Meanwhile, Zionist militias escalated their violent campaigns of murder and mass displacement, culminating in the declaration of the State of Israel, which resulted in the expulsion of around 950,000 Palestinians through a campaign of massacres and intimidation, forcing them from their homes to the West Bank, Gaza Strip, and neighboring Arab countries.
Unceasing Genocide
Over the past decades, British and Western support for Israeli occupation has remained unwavering across various fronts, including financial, diplomatic, military, and even intelligence support. This backing intensified during the Israeli genocide in Gaza that began on October 7, 2023.
Analysis of maritime data on “Radar Box” website revealed over 6,000 military flights linked to Western countries in the region during the year of the genocide on Gaza, with a permanent air bridge established to provide substantial Western support for the bombardment of Gaza with tons of bombs.
The data showed that the UK led all pro-Israel countries with more than 47% of surveillance flights. The British air forces predominantly using the “Shadow R1” aircraft for these missions.
These planes, developed by the American company Raytheon, are equipped with advanced surveillance and sensing technologies, enabling them to carry out intelligence operations, maintain constant monitoring of ground movements, track vehicles, and conduct targeting missions.
From the very first day of the genocide, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak stated that the United Kingdom “stands unequivocally” with the occupying state of Israel.
The UK also issued an “unequivocal condemnation” of Hamas and the Palestinian resistance, which carried out the Al-Aqsa Flood operation.
Furthermore, the British government abstained from voting on three ceasefire resolutions proposed to the UN Security Council, which called for a humanitarian truce in Gaza.
British ministers expressed support for the forcible evacuations in Gaza and the Israeli massacres, alongside massive arms deals, as British and Western support for the occupation continued unabated.
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