May: UK proud of spearheading Israel’s creation 100 years ago

Speaking on the issuance of Balfour Declaration’s centenary, Britain’s Prime Minister Theresa May said her country takes pride in spearheading creation of Israel through releasing the declaration.

The Balfour Declaration was a public statement issued by the UK government during World War I announcing support for creation of Israel. It was named after Lord Arthur Balfour, the then foreign secretary who penned the document, which turned 100 on Thursday, according to Press TV.

Palestine was under British rule when Balfour issued the policy statement.

Palestinians view the declaration as a prelude to the Israeli occupation of their homeland in 1948, saying the UK government should apologize for issuing the document. Speaking at Balfour centenary dinner in London, May said Britain was “proud of our pioneering role in the creation of Israel.”

She also said Britain was proud “of the relationship we have built with Israel. As we work together towards Balfour’s vision of a peaceful co-existence, we must be equally clear that there can never be any excuses for boycotts, divestment or sanctions: they are unacceptable and this government will have no truck with those who subscribe to them,” May added.

The Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement has attracted considerable support among pro-palestinian people and circles worldwide. The campaign seeks to cut the flow of funds from foreign sources and donors to illegal Israeli settlements and the regime’s illegal construction activities.

Emboldened by the Balfour Declaration and the ensuring Western support, Israel captured huge swathes of Arab land in a war in 1948, and then proclaimed its existence. In 1967, it proceeded to capture more Palestinian territory in another war. It then started propping up scores of settlements across the land in a move to gradually annex it.

May said that the regime had to make compromises “including an end to the building of new settlements,” stopping short at offering her opinion on what was to happen to the ones the regime had already propped up.

Tel Aviv has defied all international condemnations of its settlement activities, including outright denunciation by the United Nations.