Palestinian Campaign To Sue Britain, Demand Reparation For Balfour Declaration | MEMRI

In July 2016, ahead of the 100th anniversary of the Balfour Declaration, Palestinians initiated a campaign to sue Britain for issuing this declaration on the grounds that it led to the establishment of the State of Israel and the Palestinian Nakba. The campaign was launched at the Arab League summit held July 25-27 in Nouakchott, Mauretania, when Palestinian President Mahmoud ‚Abbas requested the help of the Arab leaders in filing such as lawsuit. He was apparently prompted to take this decision by reports that Britain is planning to mark the centenary of the Balfour Declaration with an event attended by Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu.[1] Palestinian Foreign Minister Riyad Al-Maliki stated that holding such an event „would have a negative impact Palestinian-British relations,“[2] and PLO Executive Committee Secretary Saeb Erekat said that marking the centenary of the Balfour Declaration „doubles the [Palestinians‘] pain and makes a mockery of justice.“[3]