Ramallah: The occupied Jerusalem branch of Fatah has urged the international community in general and the UK, in particular, which it claims is responsible for the Balfour report, to take their international responsibilities seriously and end the unfair conditions under which the Palestinians are living.

In a statement issued by Fatah, to mark the 93rd anniversary of the Balfour Declaration, the group highlighted the necessity of putting pressure on the Israeli Government to end all aspects of its occupation, including colonisation and military activities.

The statement said it is time for Israel to respect the wishes of the international community and to take note of international resolutions, in particular resolution No194, which allows the return of Palestinian refugees to their homelands and permits the Palestinians to create their own independent state, with occupied East Jerusalem as its capital.

The statement also underlined the serious threat facing the Palestinians at the moment and stipulated that as a result it is essential that Palestinian rights are upheld the Palestinian leadership supported.

It described the Balfour Declaration as an ‘illegal promise’ issued by a country that owes nothing to the Zionist Movement.

It noted that on the 93rd anniversary of the Balfour Declaration, the Palestinian people are under occupation, especially in the city of Jerusalem.

The Israeli colonists, it said, are waging an unprecedented war against the Palestinians under the full protection of the Israeli police and the army, with daily killings, arrests and colony construction on Palestinian territory, as well as the demolition of Palestinian houses, the cutting down of trees and the reshaping of the geopolitical map of Palestine, in a way which gives the Israelis even more control over the country.

The Balfour Declaration:

The Balfour Declaration of 1917 (dated November 2, 1917) is a formal statement of policy by the British government stating that:

"His Majesty's government view, which favours the establishment in Palestine as a national home for the Jewish people, and will use their best endeavors to facilitate the achievement of this object, it being clearly understood that nothing shall be done which may prejudice the civil and religious rights of the existing non-Jewish communities in Palestine, or the rights and political status enjoyed by Jews in any other country.”

The declaration was printed, in the form of a letter from the Foreign Secretary, Arthur James Balfour to Baron Walter Rothschild, a leader of the British Jewish community.

The letter reflected the position of the British Cabinet, as agreed upon in a meeting on October 31, 1917. It further stated that the declaration is a sign of sympathy with Jewish Zionist aspirations.