15 oct 2017
Former British premier and Middle East Quartet envoy Tony Blair has admitted for the first time that he and other world leaders were wrong to yield to Israeli pressure to impose an immediate boycott of Hamas after it won Palestinian elections in 2006, according to the Guardian newspaper.
The results of the 2006 elections were judged free and fair by international monitors,
At the time, Blair offered strong support for the decision, driven by the George W Bush White House, to halt aid to and sever relations with the newly elected Hamas-led Palestinian Authority unless it agreed to recognize Israel, renounce violence and abide by previous agreements between its Fatah predecessors and Israel, but such ultimatum was rejected by Hamas.
Interviewed for a new book “Gaza: Preparing for Dawn,” Blair said: “In retrospect, I think we should have, right at the very beginning, tried to pull [Hamas] into a dialogue and shifted their positions. I think that’s where I would be in retrospect.”
“But, obviously, it was very difficult; the Israelis were very opposed to it. But you know we could have probably worked out a way whereby we did, which in fact we ended up doing anyway, informally.”
Blair did not elaborate on subsequent “informal” dealings with Hamas, but he appears to be referring to clandestine contacts between MI6 and Hamas representatives during and possibly after the kidnap of BBC journalist Alan Johnston by an extreme fundamentalist group in 2007. The kidnappers eventually released Johnston after heavy pressure from the Hamas government.
The Guardian quoted sources as saying that Blair had held at least six lengthy private meetings with Khaled Mishaal, the former Hamas political bureau chief, and his successor Ismail Haneyya.
Those meetings were to explore a possible long-term ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, but the international block on official contacts with Hamas eroded western leverage in the region, increased the isolation and suffering of the Gaza public, and helped to drive the Movement into the arms of Iran, all without dislodging it from its dominance of Gaza.
The results of the 2006 elections were judged free and fair by international monitors,
At the time, Blair offered strong support for the decision, driven by the George W Bush White House, to halt aid to and sever relations with the newly elected Hamas-led Palestinian Authority unless it agreed to recognize Israel, renounce violence and abide by previous agreements between its Fatah predecessors and Israel, but such ultimatum was rejected by Hamas.
Interviewed for a new book “Gaza: Preparing for Dawn,” Blair said: “In retrospect, I think we should have, right at the very beginning, tried to pull [Hamas] into a dialogue and shifted their positions. I think that’s where I would be in retrospect.”
“But, obviously, it was very difficult; the Israelis were very opposed to it. But you know we could have probably worked out a way whereby we did, which in fact we ended up doing anyway, informally.”
Blair did not elaborate on subsequent “informal” dealings with Hamas, but he appears to be referring to clandestine contacts between MI6 and Hamas representatives during and possibly after the kidnap of BBC journalist Alan Johnston by an extreme fundamentalist group in 2007. The kidnappers eventually released Johnston after heavy pressure from the Hamas government.
The Guardian quoted sources as saying that Blair had held at least six lengthy private meetings with Khaled Mishaal, the former Hamas political bureau chief, and his successor Ismail Haneyya.
Those meetings were to explore a possible long-term ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, but the international block on official contacts with Hamas eroded western leverage in the region, increased the isolation and suffering of the Gaza public, and helped to drive the Movement into the arms of Iran, all without dislodging it from its dominance of Gaza.
12 oct 2017
A conference over the upshots of the notorious Balfour Declaration is to be held on November 17 in Beirut by the Palestinians Abroad Conference, in partnership with the Arab-International Center for Communication and Solidarity.
“Balfour . . . . The Centenary of an Imperialist Project” Conference is expected to kick start in Beirut on November 17 so as to discuss the tragic fallouts of the Balfour Declaration and of the British mandate in Palestine.
The conference will also shed light on the legal flaws of the Declaration and the UK’s historical responsibility for the tragedy befalling the Palestinians over decades.
The conference follows attempts by the Palestinians in Europe Conference to urge the UK to backtrack on the celebration of the Balfour centenary.
“Balfour . . . . The Centenary of an Imperialist Project” Conference is expected to kick start in Beirut on November 17 so as to discuss the tragic fallouts of the Balfour Declaration and of the British mandate in Palestine.
The conference will also shed light on the legal flaws of the Declaration and the UK’s historical responsibility for the tragedy befalling the Palestinians over decades.
The conference follows attempts by the Palestinians in Europe Conference to urge the UK to backtrack on the celebration of the Balfour centenary.
4 oct 2017
The Arab Organization for Human Rights in the UK (AOHR) urged on Wednesday the Counter Terrorism Command (CTC), also called SO15, to arrest Israel’s former PM, Ehud Barak, in London.
AOHR said Barak was spotted on Tuesday evening in London streets with his wife and a bodyguard. However, the local police made no efforts to nab him despite the man’s incontestable involvement in war crimes against the Palestinians and in the notorious attack on the Mavi Marmara aid-ship.
“London has become a safe resort for war criminals,” AOHR said, slamming the British authorities for dragging their feet over ongoing calls to issue arrest warrants against Israeli leaders charged with war crimes.
It added that Britain is amongst the world’s states which have adopted an overriding priority to disrupt terrorist-related activity and impeach war criminals regardless of their nationality and origin.
“When it comes to Israelis indicted for UN-documented war crimes such laws become shallow. The suspect is either granted diplomatic immunity on claims that he/she is on an official visit; or else the suspect goes invisible in case he/she shows up again, despite the decisive proof police have access to,” AOHR’s Arabic statement further read.
AOHR said Barak was spotted on Tuesday evening in London streets with his wife and a bodyguard. However, the local police made no efforts to nab him despite the man’s incontestable involvement in war crimes against the Palestinians and in the notorious attack on the Mavi Marmara aid-ship.
“London has become a safe resort for war criminals,” AOHR said, slamming the British authorities for dragging their feet over ongoing calls to issue arrest warrants against Israeli leaders charged with war crimes.
It added that Britain is amongst the world’s states which have adopted an overriding priority to disrupt terrorist-related activity and impeach war criminals regardless of their nationality and origin.
“When it comes to Israelis indicted for UN-documented war crimes such laws become shallow. The suspect is either granted diplomatic immunity on claims that he/she is on an official visit; or else the suspect goes invisible in case he/she shows up again, despite the decisive proof police have access to,” AOHR’s Arabic statement further read.
29 sept 2017
Israel is “terrified” of Jeremy Corbyn becoming British prime minister and will do everything they can to stop him, a leading Israeli activist and writer told an audience of Labour party members on Monday.
Miko Peled, who has spoken around the world against Israel’s occupation, was speaking in Brighton during the Labour Party conference where Corbyn’s position has been strengthened following the 8 June election.
Peled said the Israelis “are terrified of the possibility of Jeremy Corbyn being prime minister. They are going to pull all the stops, they are going to smear, they are going to try anything they can to stop Corbyn from being prime minister."
He said it was up to Labour members to stop that happening. “Jeremy Corbyn is an opportunity for Britain that, if it gets lost, won’t come back for a very long time.”
The meeting exposed cracks within the ranks of Labour’s Jewish membership with one audience member calling for the Jewish Labour Movement, which has traditionally supported Israel, to be expelled from the party.
The meeting was organised by a rival group, Jewish Voice for Labour, which advocates Palestinian rights and supports the boycott campaign against Israel.
British-Palestinian barrister and campaigner Salma Karmi-Ayyoub warned the meeting that if what she described as the “New Anti-Semitism campaign” was successful, activists would not be able to criticise Israeli policies or demand Palestinian rights.
"The issue is that the Jewish state in the form that Israel is now is incompatible with Palestinian rights. That is just the reality. You can't have both."
Israel is using the anti-Semitism label to block all meaningful discussions on Palestine, she said. “I’ve been in a meeting with a spokesman for the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs who said the [Palestinian] right of return is anti-Semitic,” she said.
“What Israel now faces as a result of its own expansion is a bi-national reality. It faces a choice of becoming an apartheid state or a state of all its citizens,” said Karmi-Ayyoub, who is co-chair of the British legal charity Lawyers for Palestinian Human Rights.
Following his 2015 surprise election to the Labour leadership, Corbyn faced criticism over alleged anti-Semitism in the party and a commission was set up to investigate the claims, while a number of Labour members were suspended for alleged anti-Semitism.
"The reason anti-Semitism is used is because they [the Israelis] have no argument, there is nothing to say," said Peled. "How can a call for justice and tolerance be conflated with anti-Semitism? I don't know if they realise this but they are pitting Judaism against everything good and just."
Labour leaders have traditionally supported a two-state solution to the Israel-Palestine issue, although there has been a push ahead of the conference for the party to take a more pro-Palestinian stance.
Peled has spoken around the world about his experience of growing up as the son of Israeli general and war hero Matti Peled, losing a niece to a Palestinian suicide bomber and his growing opposition to Israel’s occupation.
Corbyn has been an active supporter of Palestine Solidarity Campaign in the UK for many years, facing accusations that he supported Hamas during the 2017 general election campaign.
Peled, who lives in the US and recently published a book The General’s Son, said the Palestinian cause had received growing support in the US. “There have been enormous strides on this issue in the last five to six years.... I’m in Palestine a lot and I see the Israeli state collapsing from within.”
Miko Peled, who has spoken around the world against Israel’s occupation, was speaking in Brighton during the Labour Party conference where Corbyn’s position has been strengthened following the 8 June election.
Peled said the Israelis “are terrified of the possibility of Jeremy Corbyn being prime minister. They are going to pull all the stops, they are going to smear, they are going to try anything they can to stop Corbyn from being prime minister."
He said it was up to Labour members to stop that happening. “Jeremy Corbyn is an opportunity for Britain that, if it gets lost, won’t come back for a very long time.”
The meeting exposed cracks within the ranks of Labour’s Jewish membership with one audience member calling for the Jewish Labour Movement, which has traditionally supported Israel, to be expelled from the party.
The meeting was organised by a rival group, Jewish Voice for Labour, which advocates Palestinian rights and supports the boycott campaign against Israel.
British-Palestinian barrister and campaigner Salma Karmi-Ayyoub warned the meeting that if what she described as the “New Anti-Semitism campaign” was successful, activists would not be able to criticise Israeli policies or demand Palestinian rights.
"The issue is that the Jewish state in the form that Israel is now is incompatible with Palestinian rights. That is just the reality. You can't have both."
Israel is using the anti-Semitism label to block all meaningful discussions on Palestine, she said. “I’ve been in a meeting with a spokesman for the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs who said the [Palestinian] right of return is anti-Semitic,” she said.
“What Israel now faces as a result of its own expansion is a bi-national reality. It faces a choice of becoming an apartheid state or a state of all its citizens,” said Karmi-Ayyoub, who is co-chair of the British legal charity Lawyers for Palestinian Human Rights.
Following his 2015 surprise election to the Labour leadership, Corbyn faced criticism over alleged anti-Semitism in the party and a commission was set up to investigate the claims, while a number of Labour members were suspended for alleged anti-Semitism.
"The reason anti-Semitism is used is because they [the Israelis] have no argument, there is nothing to say," said Peled. "How can a call for justice and tolerance be conflated with anti-Semitism? I don't know if they realise this but they are pitting Judaism against everything good and just."
Labour leaders have traditionally supported a two-state solution to the Israel-Palestine issue, although there has been a push ahead of the conference for the party to take a more pro-Palestinian stance.
Peled has spoken around the world about his experience of growing up as the son of Israeli general and war hero Matti Peled, losing a niece to a Palestinian suicide bomber and his growing opposition to Israel’s occupation.
Corbyn has been an active supporter of Palestine Solidarity Campaign in the UK for many years, facing accusations that he supported Hamas during the 2017 general election campaign.
Peled, who lives in the US and recently published a book The General’s Son, said the Palestinian cause had received growing support in the US. “There have been enormous strides on this issue in the last five to six years.... I’m in Palestine a lot and I see the Israeli state collapsing from within.”
by Yvonne Ridley, Days of Palestine
This has not been a good week for Israel, especially in Britain, where the Zionist lobbyists have spent millions in recent years oiling the cogs in Westminster to persuade politicians of all stripes to give their unconditional support to their favourite state.
It has worked rather well for them, with Labour Party leaders like Tony Blair, Gordon Brown and Ed Miliband joining their counterparts in the Tory Party as “Friends of Israel” along with the majority of their ministers and shadow ministers.
However, after this week’s triumphant Labour Party conference in Brighton it looks as if the pro-Israel lobby has lost its grip on the party led by Jeremy Corbyn. If anyone had any doubt that the Zionist influence has all but gone, it was dispelled by the Labour leader’s speech.
“And let’s give real support to end the oppression of the Palestinian people, the 50-year occupation and illegal settlement expansion and move to a genuine two-state solution of the Israel-Palestine conflict,” Corbyn roared. “Britain’s voice needs to be heard independently in the world,” he added to cheers from around the conference hall. As if to reinforce that this was not some sentence thrown in at random, Corbyn fired a warning shot to Israel’s greatest friends in Washington for good measure: “We must be a candid friend to the United States, now more than ever.”
There was also a Corbyn broadside aimed at the President of the United States: “The values we share are not served by building walls, banning immigrants on the basis of religion, polluting the planet, or pandering to racism. And let me say frankly, the speech made by the US President to the United Nations last week was deeply disturbing. It threatened war and talked of tearing up international agreements. Devoid of concern for human rights or universal values, it was not the speech of a world leader.”
Clearly relishing his time in the spotlight, Corbyn rubbed salt into the wound. “Our government has a responsibility,” he pointed out. “It cannot meekly go along with this dangerous course. If the special relationship means anything, it must mean that we can say to Washington: that way is the wrong way. That’s clearly what’s needed in the case of Bombardier where thousands of jobs are now at stake. A Prime Minister betting our economic future on a deregulated trade deal with the US might want to explain how 220 per cent tariffs are going to boost our exports. So let Britain’s voice be heard loud and clear for peace, justice and cooperation.”
Corbyn’s message will be especially well-received in Northern Ireland, where 4,500 jobs are under threat after it emerged that a ruling on punitive tariffs by the US plunged the Canadian-owned Bombardier Inc. into crisis after threatening to make its key C Series jet all but unsellable.
It was sensational stuff. A shot in the arm for Palestine, a slap in the face to the US and lots of talk of peace and justice from a political leader who is no longer the butt of jokes or political satire. Like it or not, Labour is a party ready to take office; in a climate where Britain’s current Prime Minister is hanging on to her job by a thread, some political observers are already talking about “when” Jeremy Corbyn becomes Prime Minister, and not “if”.
One can only guess what Australian-born Mark Regev makes of it all. He might even tear down his anti-BDS war room charts in Israel’s London Embassy now and focus instead on how to stop Labour from forming the next British government. The Israeli Ambassador was left reeling after being snubbed publicly by Corbyn this week, so his aides could well have been reaching for the smelling salts when the Labour leader pledged to give “real support” to Palestine. To add to the ambassador’s misery, that particular comment brought the loudest cheers and applause from the audience.
Regev, clinging to the comfort blanket of victimhood that he keeps to hand in case of emergency, condemned what he alleged was “anti-Jewish bigotry” at the Labour conference after Jeremy Corbyn didn’t show up at a pro-Israel reception. He made his claim at a Labour Friends of Israel event, where those present shouted “where is he?” and “why isn’t he here?” when it was revealed that Mr Corbyn would not be appearing alongside the former spin-doctor who sought to justify the killing of children, women and men when he was Benjamin Netanyahu’s mouthpiece during successive Israeli military offensives against civilians in the Gaza Strip.
Shadow Foreign Secretary Emily Thornberry told the pro-Israel gathering that the Labour leader was “not attending any of these receptions” on Tuesday night in order to prepare for his keynote conference speech on Wednesday. However, photographs later emerged showing that Corbyn had turned up at a Daily Mirror party, where shadow ministers were in karaoke mood.
“The Labour movement has a proud history of supporting Zionism,” said Regev. “So to those who called for the expulsion of Zionists from the Labour Party on Monday, I ask, would you have expelled some of Labour’s greatest luminaries too?” The ambassador was clearly rattled by the humiliating snub.
Thornberry insisted that Labour is “completely committed” to a two-state solution in the Middle East. She added, pointedly, that it is “completely inappropriate for those on the fringes of the Labour Party, on the fringes of this conference, to try to strangle that debate.” In a written statement to the pro-Israel reception, Corbyn said, “Labour will continue to campaign for peace through a two-state solution, a secure Israel alongside a secure and viable Palestinian state. I look forward to working with you all to achieve that together.”
The powerful leader of the Unite union, Len McCluskey, is a close ally of Corbyn. He claimed later that allegations of anti-Jewish sentiment within the party are “mood music” created by those wanting to “undermine” the Labour leader.
To add to the misery of Regev and his lobbyists, it was announced on Wednesday that Interpol is to admit Palestine as a member of the International Police Organisation, despite Israel’s strong opposition to the Palestinian Authority joining any international body, arguing that it is not a state. The last time that the PA applied to join Interpol was last year, in Indonesia, where Israel’s lobbying paid off when the application was rejected.
This time, though, the Zionist state hasn’t been so lucky, and the PA may well use its membership of Interpol to have “red notices” issued against senior Israeli officials, something that Israel dreads. Interpol itself doesn’t issue arrest warrants — its members do that — but a red notice is a trigger which would make overseas travel very difficult for those Israelis suspected of war crimes and crimes against humanity.
Benjamin Netanyahu cheered last year and gloated that his country’s diplomats had secured a major victory in denying the PA Interpol membership. What will he make of the announcement today? And, indeed, the news from the Labour Party conference? Alarm bells must be ringing.
Nevertheless, Regev and Netanyahu can at least reassure themselves that the pro-Israel lobby is alive and well within the ranks of Tory MPs, and no doubt Prime Minister Theresa May will reassure Tel Aviv of this during the Conservative Party conference next week. Such reassurances from a lame duck PM and a government declining in popularity, though, will be cold comfort to the wounded Israelis. Not only are they losing their friends in one party, but those in the other are losing their influence. Dark days ahead, then, which means a ray of hope for the beleaguered people of Palestine as the pro-Israel lobby loses its grip on Westminster.
Yvonne Ridley is an author, famous journalist and film-maker Yvonne is a committed peace activist, champion of civil liberties and advocate for women’s rights. She was on the first international flotilla to sail to Gaza in 2008.
Archive IMEMC post: 08/31/17 Murder Case of Cartoonist Naji al-Ali Reopened in UK
This has not been a good week for Israel, especially in Britain, where the Zionist lobbyists have spent millions in recent years oiling the cogs in Westminster to persuade politicians of all stripes to give their unconditional support to their favourite state.
It has worked rather well for them, with Labour Party leaders like Tony Blair, Gordon Brown and Ed Miliband joining their counterparts in the Tory Party as “Friends of Israel” along with the majority of their ministers and shadow ministers.
However, after this week’s triumphant Labour Party conference in Brighton it looks as if the pro-Israel lobby has lost its grip on the party led by Jeremy Corbyn. If anyone had any doubt that the Zionist influence has all but gone, it was dispelled by the Labour leader’s speech.
“And let’s give real support to end the oppression of the Palestinian people, the 50-year occupation and illegal settlement expansion and move to a genuine two-state solution of the Israel-Palestine conflict,” Corbyn roared. “Britain’s voice needs to be heard independently in the world,” he added to cheers from around the conference hall. As if to reinforce that this was not some sentence thrown in at random, Corbyn fired a warning shot to Israel’s greatest friends in Washington for good measure: “We must be a candid friend to the United States, now more than ever.”
There was also a Corbyn broadside aimed at the President of the United States: “The values we share are not served by building walls, banning immigrants on the basis of religion, polluting the planet, or pandering to racism. And let me say frankly, the speech made by the US President to the United Nations last week was deeply disturbing. It threatened war and talked of tearing up international agreements. Devoid of concern for human rights or universal values, it was not the speech of a world leader.”
Clearly relishing his time in the spotlight, Corbyn rubbed salt into the wound. “Our government has a responsibility,” he pointed out. “It cannot meekly go along with this dangerous course. If the special relationship means anything, it must mean that we can say to Washington: that way is the wrong way. That’s clearly what’s needed in the case of Bombardier where thousands of jobs are now at stake. A Prime Minister betting our economic future on a deregulated trade deal with the US might want to explain how 220 per cent tariffs are going to boost our exports. So let Britain’s voice be heard loud and clear for peace, justice and cooperation.”
Corbyn’s message will be especially well-received in Northern Ireland, where 4,500 jobs are under threat after it emerged that a ruling on punitive tariffs by the US plunged the Canadian-owned Bombardier Inc. into crisis after threatening to make its key C Series jet all but unsellable.
It was sensational stuff. A shot in the arm for Palestine, a slap in the face to the US and lots of talk of peace and justice from a political leader who is no longer the butt of jokes or political satire. Like it or not, Labour is a party ready to take office; in a climate where Britain’s current Prime Minister is hanging on to her job by a thread, some political observers are already talking about “when” Jeremy Corbyn becomes Prime Minister, and not “if”.
One can only guess what Australian-born Mark Regev makes of it all. He might even tear down his anti-BDS war room charts in Israel’s London Embassy now and focus instead on how to stop Labour from forming the next British government. The Israeli Ambassador was left reeling after being snubbed publicly by Corbyn this week, so his aides could well have been reaching for the smelling salts when the Labour leader pledged to give “real support” to Palestine. To add to the ambassador’s misery, that particular comment brought the loudest cheers and applause from the audience.
Regev, clinging to the comfort blanket of victimhood that he keeps to hand in case of emergency, condemned what he alleged was “anti-Jewish bigotry” at the Labour conference after Jeremy Corbyn didn’t show up at a pro-Israel reception. He made his claim at a Labour Friends of Israel event, where those present shouted “where is he?” and “why isn’t he here?” when it was revealed that Mr Corbyn would not be appearing alongside the former spin-doctor who sought to justify the killing of children, women and men when he was Benjamin Netanyahu’s mouthpiece during successive Israeli military offensives against civilians in the Gaza Strip.
Shadow Foreign Secretary Emily Thornberry told the pro-Israel gathering that the Labour leader was “not attending any of these receptions” on Tuesday night in order to prepare for his keynote conference speech on Wednesday. However, photographs later emerged showing that Corbyn had turned up at a Daily Mirror party, where shadow ministers were in karaoke mood.
“The Labour movement has a proud history of supporting Zionism,” said Regev. “So to those who called for the expulsion of Zionists from the Labour Party on Monday, I ask, would you have expelled some of Labour’s greatest luminaries too?” The ambassador was clearly rattled by the humiliating snub.
Thornberry insisted that Labour is “completely committed” to a two-state solution in the Middle East. She added, pointedly, that it is “completely inappropriate for those on the fringes of the Labour Party, on the fringes of this conference, to try to strangle that debate.” In a written statement to the pro-Israel reception, Corbyn said, “Labour will continue to campaign for peace through a two-state solution, a secure Israel alongside a secure and viable Palestinian state. I look forward to working with you all to achieve that together.”
The powerful leader of the Unite union, Len McCluskey, is a close ally of Corbyn. He claimed later that allegations of anti-Jewish sentiment within the party are “mood music” created by those wanting to “undermine” the Labour leader.
To add to the misery of Regev and his lobbyists, it was announced on Wednesday that Interpol is to admit Palestine as a member of the International Police Organisation, despite Israel’s strong opposition to the Palestinian Authority joining any international body, arguing that it is not a state. The last time that the PA applied to join Interpol was last year, in Indonesia, where Israel’s lobbying paid off when the application was rejected.
This time, though, the Zionist state hasn’t been so lucky, and the PA may well use its membership of Interpol to have “red notices” issued against senior Israeli officials, something that Israel dreads. Interpol itself doesn’t issue arrest warrants — its members do that — but a red notice is a trigger which would make overseas travel very difficult for those Israelis suspected of war crimes and crimes against humanity.
Benjamin Netanyahu cheered last year and gloated that his country’s diplomats had secured a major victory in denying the PA Interpol membership. What will he make of the announcement today? And, indeed, the news from the Labour Party conference? Alarm bells must be ringing.
Nevertheless, Regev and Netanyahu can at least reassure themselves that the pro-Israel lobby is alive and well within the ranks of Tory MPs, and no doubt Prime Minister Theresa May will reassure Tel Aviv of this during the Conservative Party conference next week. Such reassurances from a lame duck PM and a government declining in popularity, though, will be cold comfort to the wounded Israelis. Not only are they losing their friends in one party, but those in the other are losing their influence. Dark days ahead, then, which means a ray of hope for the beleaguered people of Palestine as the pro-Israel lobby loses its grip on Westminster.
Yvonne Ridley is an author, famous journalist and film-maker Yvonne is a committed peace activist, champion of civil liberties and advocate for women’s rights. She was on the first international flotilla to sail to Gaza in 2008.
Archive IMEMC post: 08/31/17 Murder Case of Cartoonist Naji al-Ali Reopened in UK
26 sept 2017
The Palestinian Return Center (PRC) on Monday held a panel discussion about the Balfour declaration on the sidelines of the 36th session of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva.
The participants in the debate called on Britain to necessarily apologize for the declaration, which they said led to the displacement of millions of Palestinians and brought endless calamities upon them
In his speech, Salman Abu Sitta, head of the general committee for the National Conference for the Palestinians Abroad, talked about Britain’s role in establishing the Israeli occupation state and committing massacres against the Palestinian people.
Abu Sitta demanded Britain to apologize for the letter made by its foreign secretary Arthur Balfour in 1917 on Palestine and compensate the Palestinian people financially for the harm and destruction which they have suffered from at the hands of the Zionists for over 100 years.
For his part, head of the Palestinian Prisoner Society Qaddura Fares criticized Britain for its refusal to apologize for the Balfour declaration, stressing that the Palestinian people at home and abroad are in agreement that Britain must shoulder its responsibilities towards them.
PRC chairman Majed al-Zeer, in turn, spoke on the importance of the role that can be played by civil society and human rights groups in pressuring the British government to apologize for its crimes in Palestine.
The participants in the debate called on Britain to necessarily apologize for the declaration, which they said led to the displacement of millions of Palestinians and brought endless calamities upon them
In his speech, Salman Abu Sitta, head of the general committee for the National Conference for the Palestinians Abroad, talked about Britain’s role in establishing the Israeli occupation state and committing massacres against the Palestinian people.
Abu Sitta demanded Britain to apologize for the letter made by its foreign secretary Arthur Balfour in 1917 on Palestine and compensate the Palestinian people financially for the harm and destruction which they have suffered from at the hands of the Zionists for over 100 years.
For his part, head of the Palestinian Prisoner Society Qaddura Fares criticized Britain for its refusal to apologize for the Balfour declaration, stressing that the Palestinian people at home and abroad are in agreement that Britain must shoulder its responsibilities towards them.
PRC chairman Majed al-Zeer, in turn, spoke on the importance of the role that can be played by civil society and human rights groups in pressuring the British government to apologize for its crimes in Palestine.
