ICSPR: 108 Years Since the Infamous Balfour Declaration Ongoing Historical Injustice Against the Palestinian People Manifesting Most Brutally in the Genocidal War on Gaza

November 2, 2025

Press Release

ICSPR: 108 Years Since the Infamous Balfour Declaration… Ongoing Historical Injustice Against the Palestinian People Manifesting Most Brutally in the Genocidal War on Gaza

The International Commission to Support the Rights of the Palestinian People (ICSPR) emphasizes that the infamous Balfour Declaration laid the foundation for the ongoing Nakba against the Palestinian people, paving the way for the establishment of the Israeli occupation state on the ruins of the Palestinians’ historical and national rights. It led to the displacement of Palestinians and the commission of the most heinous crimes against humanity.

The 108th anniversary of the Balfour Declaration comes at a time when the Palestinian people are enduring a third year of comprehensive genocidal warfare carried out by Israeli occupation forces against over two million residents in the Gaza Strip, amid international silence and U.S. and European complicity. The number of martyrs and missing persons has exceeded 80,000, in addition to more than 170,000 wounded and disabled, two million forcibly displaced, 90% of homes and infrastructure destroyed, and ongoing policies of collective punishment, starvation, thirst, and a total health system collapse. Meanwhile, extrajudicial killings, arrests, and torture continue in the West Bank and occupied Jerusalem, alongside escalating settler violence and crimes under the protection of the occupation army.

The Commission notes that what is happening in Gaza for more than two years is a direct extension of the Balfour crime and a natural consequence of the continued political and legal impunity of the Israeli occupation and the alignment of some Western powers with the colonial Zionist project, despite clear evidence of genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity.

The Commission also notes that the recent British recognition of the State of Palestine, while a positive albeit belated step, does not absolve Britain of its historical, legal, and moral responsibility for the original crime of the Balfour Declaration, which gave what it did not own to those who did not deserve it, paving the way for over a century of ongoing ethnic cleansing. The Commission asserts that such recognition must be accompanied by an official apology, full compensation to the Palestinian people, and an immediate halt to all military and political support for the Israeli occupation.

The world today faces a real test: either it upholds international law and human rights or continues its shameful silence that has made Palestinian blood the price of power and influence calculations.

In fulfillment of its rights-based and humanitarian responsibilities, ICSPR:

1. Reiterates its demand for Britain to bear its legal and moral responsibility for the Balfour Declaration and its consequences, issuing an official apology and fair compensation to the Palestinian people, alongside practical recognition of the full sovereignty of the Palestinian state within the borders of June 4, 1967, with Jerusalem as its capital.

2. Calls on the international community and the United Nations to take serious action to implement international legitimacy resolutions, activate International Court of Justice measures, and provide international protection for Palestinian civilians amid ongoing genocide in Gaza.

3. Urges the ICC Prosecutor to expedite ongoing investigations into genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity committed by occupation forces, and to end selective justice and impunity policies.

4. Encourages High Contracting Parties to the Geneva Conventions to apply legal and political pressure on the Israeli occupation to stop aggression, lift the blockade, open humanitarian corridors, and ensure the flow of aid, medical supplies, and fuel.

5. Calls on all Palestinian leaders to agree on a national vision for the current stage, form a unified leadership, and adopt a comprehensive strategy to confront occupation crimes, internationalize the conflict, and strengthen citizen resilience against genocide, forced displacement, and colonial annexation policies.

6. Appeals to civil society organizations and freedom-loving people worldwide to intensify solidarity campaigns with the Palestinian people and support efforts to impose sanctions on the Israeli occupation and expel it from international institutions until it complies with international law and UN resolutions.

ICSPR reaffirms that the 108th anniversary of the Balfour Declaration must serve as a renewed outcry against ongoing colonial injustice and the genocide faced by the Palestinian people today in Gaza, the West Bank, and Jerusalem. True justice begins with ending the occupation, holding war criminals accountable, and enabling the Palestinian people to exercise their inalienable right to self-determination, return to their homes, and achieve an independent state.

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International Commission to Support the Rights of the Palestinian People (ICSPR)