Ref: 103/2018
Date: 30 Oct 2018
Press Release
The commemoration of the Balfour Declaration.
ICSPR: It is about time for the international community to break its silence and to restore the rights of the Palestinian people
Friday, November 02, 2018 marks the anniversary of the Balfour Declaration, a sad occasion to be revived by the Palestinian people every year, rejecting the contents of the letter sent by Arthur James Balfour to Lord Lionel Walter de Rothschild, referring to the British government’s support for the establishment of a Jewish homeland in Palestine, where the British government undertook two orders: First, to exert the best efforts to establish a national homeland for the Jewish people in Palestine. And second, to prevent any action to prejudice the civil and religious rights enjoyed by non-Jewish communities living in Palestine as a result of the establishment of the new entity. Balfour Declaration denied the right of the Palestinian people to self-determination, and created the suffering of the Palestinian refugees who were displaced from their homes during the repeated Israeli wars, and put Palestinian civilians under the oppression of the Israeli occupation authorities, which have been violating to this day all the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people, specially the right to life and liberty, expression of opinion, fair trial, freedom from torture and all the rights enshrined in the human rights system based on the protection of all human beings from the violations of all these rights, these rights are violated daily by the occupation forces, especially in the recent period in which Israeli crimes against Palestinian civilians have increased.
This occasion coincides with the continued Israeli occupation authorities denial of all the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people to adopt policies contrary to international law, denying the right of return of Palestinian refugees, as stipulated in UN General Assembly Resolution 194 of 11 December 1948
The commemoration of the Balfour Declaration is an occasion to urge the international community and the United Nations to fulfill their legal and moral obligations by working to put an end to the violations of human rights in the occupied Palestinian territories, deploring the continued occurrence of Israeli violations at the hearing and in front of the international community. Therefore, ICSPR demands the following:
The Commission shares with its Palestinian people the commemoration of the shameful Balfour Declaration, condemning the continued Israeli occupation of Palestine, and the silence of the international community on the suffering of Palestinian civilians and displaced refugees in neighboring countries.·
Calls on Britain to apologize to the Palestinian people for all the pains and tragedies resulting from the Balfour Declaration, and affirms that what Britain has done against the Palestinian people is a crime that does not fall under the statute of limitations.·
Calls upon the international community organizations to work hard to stop the Israeli crimes against the peaceful demonstrators in Gaza Strip and who wish to return and break the siege.·
Urges activists and human rights organizations around the world to organize peaceful events in order to draw the attention of the international community on its responsibilities towards the rights of the Palestinian people.
Calls upon the international community to stand before this occasion to assess its role in ensuring respect for human rights and its support for the rights of the oppressed Palestinian people and to turn this event into an opportunity for real and genuine action to ensure respect for Palestinian human rights and to help victims of violations by helping the Palestinian people to self-determination.·
Calls upon the international community to take urgent action to implement the UN resolutions on the Palestinian issue·
Calls upon the Palestinian leadership to uphold the interest of their people and their national cause by stopping the collective punishment imposed on Gaza Strip and responding to efforts exerted to reduce the internal division.
Regards,
