After a Century, UK’s Balfour Declaration Deepens Conflict in the Middle East

Palestinians gathered in Ramallah to protest an event that took place 100 years ago. Through a 67-word speech, Britain officially recognized the formation of Israeli as the Jewish homeland in the Middle East. This text came to be known as the Balfour Declaration in Gaza City which led to one of the world’s most ferocious conflicts between Israel and Palestine.

Theresa May Claimed that There Would Be No Peace in the Middle East Without Compromises on Both Sides

On Thursday, British and Israeli officials celebrated the centenary of the Balfour Declaration. Therefore, Prime Minister Theresa May and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu dinned together in London’s Lancaster House mansion.

Theresa May claimed that she is proud of the role Great Britain played in the creation of the state of Israel. Israel is the first official establishment that recognized a Palestine territory as the home for the Jewish people.

However, May addressed the ardent conflict between Palestine and Israel as well. She claimed that both parties need to make compromises in order to be peace. Palestinians need to stop their incitement to hatred while Israelis have to end their expansion into the Palestinian territory.

“I believe it (the declaration) demands of us today a renewed resolve to support a lasting peace that is in the interests of both Israelis and Palestinians – and in the interests of us all.”

Israel Became an Independent State in 1948

In the meantime, thousands of Palestinian marched toward the British consulate in the city of Ramallah protesting the centenary. They waved black flags and various banners with inscriptions such as “100 years of dispossession.” This movement underlines the fact that little changed since the Balfour Declaration.

Palestinians have kept the bitterness alive as Britain stole them from their own territory. Arthur Balfour decided to hand over to Jews a land he did not own. The historic event was followed by a century of wars and international diplomatic calls for help.

Britain ruled in Palestine after Ottoman Turkish empire from 1922 until the end of World War Two. The U.N. General Assembly voted in favor of separation of Palestine into an Arab state and a Jewish state in 1947. As a result, Israel gained independence in 1948. On top of that, Israelis conquered other territories in Palestine during the 1967 Middle East war.

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