By Mark Ellis — 
Today marks the 100th anniversary of the Balfour Declaration, a statement released by the British government during World War I declaring their support for the establishment of a “national home for the Jewish people” in Palestine.
The Declaration was in the form of a letter dated November 2, 1917 from the U.K.’s Foreign Secretary Arthur Balfour to Lord Rothschild, a leader of the British Jewish community.
The letter amplified popular support for the eventual creation of a State of Israel. Critics will say it led to the ongoing Israeli–Palestinian conflict, which has stymied resolution.
To mark the occasion, the staff at Palestine TV acted as if they were grieving, dressing in black. The Palestinian Authority said it was “the most horrible crime in the history of mankind” and “the first organized state-terror,” according to Palestinian Media Watch (PMW).
The Palestinian Authority’s revisionist history claims the Jewish people have no history in the land. They believe Zionism was “a European imperialist plot to get rid of the Jews from Europe and implant a European colony of Jews in the Middle East to control the natural resources.”
In response to the 100th anniversary of the Declaration, the Palestinian Authority announced its intent to sue Britain in international courts for issuing the Declaration.
Conversely, British Prime Minister Theresa May said she was “proud of the role that we played in the creation of the State of Israel, and we will certainly mark the centenary with pride.”
Fatah Spokesman Osama Al-Qawasmi said that Britain directly caused “the catastrophe,” the Palestinian description for the establishment of the State of Israel.
He said “Britain committed the most horrible crime against humanity when it gave itself permission to give this promise and implement it through the mandate conspiracy and the laying of the foundation for the establishment of the Israeli occupation state.”
“The government of Britain is required to apologize to the Palestinian people … instead of celebrating the 100th anniversary of the ominous promise and the most horrible crime in the history of mankind,” he added.
An op-ed in the official Palestinian Authority newspaper branded Theresa May and Benjamin Netanyahu as criminals, stating that they “exploited peoples in these lands, stole their assets, and sucked the blood of their inhabitants.”
“The first organized state-terror is the terror of the British crown through the Balfour Promise (i.e., Declaration), which was nothing but colonialist plans to steal a homeland, expel a people, and rip apart a nation.”
PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas made a similar harsh indictment in a speech in April: “We will submit a lawsuit against you in the international courts and in the courts in Britain… You committed a crime against the Palestinian people, and that is the Balfour Promise.
“You sit there in Britain and say: We want to give that area there, Palestine, to the Jews. Even worse is the content of the Balfour Promise, in which is stated: A national homeland for the Jews…In any case this was a plot, but what is important is how we deal with this matter, and we will deal with it wisely.”
