Balfour document led to ‘century of genocide’: Diplomat

By Merve Aydogan

ANKARA (AA) - Palestinian Ambassador to Turkey Faed Mustafa said Wednesday that Palestine’s “great tragedy” had begun with the 1917 Balfour Declaration, in which Britain signaled its support for “a homeland for the Jewish people” in Palestine.

At a press briefing held at the Palestinian embassy in Ankara, Mustafa blamed the fateful document for “100 years of genocide”.

He went on to say that the declaration effectively “gave away” Palestinian land to a nation that had “no right to establish a state” in the region.

The ambassador also criticized the current U.K. government for its refusal to apologize for its role in Israel’s usurpation of Palestinian land in 1948.

“Rather than addressing the mistakes of former governments, the current [U.K.] government is gearing up to celebrate it [the declaration’s 100th anniversary] with Israel,” Mustafa said.

“We've asked [British Prime Minister] Theresa May to call off the celebrations, but she shamelessly said she was proud of it [the declaration],” he added.

The Anadolu Youth Association, a Turkish NGO, is organizing protests on Thursday to mark the declaration’s 100th anniversary, Mustafa said, going on to express his thanks for Turkey’s longstanding support for the Palestinian national cause.