Palestinian court rules Balfour Declaration invalid, urges UK apology
Nablus judge's verdict holds Britain legally responsible for consequences of statement, which paved the way for the creation of the Jewish state
A Palestinian court has ruled that the British Government’s Balfour Declaration of 1917 is invalid, calling on London to issue an apology to Palestinians.
The ruling, which was delivered in the Court of First Instance in the West Bank city of Nablus on Sunday, also held Britain legally responsible for the consequences of Lord Balfour’s statement that Britain supported “a national home for the Jewish people”.
Balfour was British foreign secretary as the First World War drew to a close, and the future administration Palestine was on the Government’s agenda. After a period of lobbying from Zionist activists, Balfour wrote his now-famous letter to Lord Rothschild.
More than a century later, the Palestinian court has said that Britain’s declaration of support for a Jewish homeland in November 1917 violated international law, and that London is therefore responsible for the consequences.
Palestinians see the Balfour Declaration as a precursor to the expulsion of 750,000 people by armed Jewish groups in 1948, known as the ‘nakba’ (catastrophe).
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