Balfour Declaration

Balfour Declaration: The Birth of the Palestine Crisis

There are some declarations in history that, although limited to a few short sentences on paper, have had an impact that has lasted for generations, shedding blood, displacing people and bringing unrest instead of stability to the entire region. The “Balfour Declaration” of 1917 is just such an event, which is a deep wound not only for Palestine, but for the entire Muslim world. This declaration laid the foundation for the creation of the State of Israel in the Middle East and began the miserable history of the Palestinian people.

During the First World War, the British government was looking for strategic support for the war and global Jewish support. In such a context, on November 2, 1917, British Foreign Secretary Arthur James Balfour sent a letter to Lord Rothschild, who was an influential leader of the British Jewish community. This letter states, “His Majesty’s Government views with favour the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people...” That is, the British government is in favour of the establishment of a “national home” for the Jewish people in Palestine.

Herein lay the most astonishing deception of the century. For Palestine was not an empty land, not an empty desert where no one lived. It was a vibrant, multicultural society where Arabs, Muslims, Christians and a few Jews had lived peacefully for centuries. Yet through this declaration, Britain was talking about the establishment of a national home for a foreign population in a geographical area, most of whose people had never lived in Palestine.

The Balfour Declaration was essentially a strategic part of the British colonialist plan. On the one hand, it was part of Britain’s imperialist policy, and on the other hand, it was a political attempt to gain the support of the international Jewish community. And in exchange for this support, they promised a land that they did not have. It was as if one man had given someone else's house as a gift.

The real consequences of this declaration were seen from 1920 onwards. Britain took Palestine under its mandate, and against the wishes of the Arab majority there, began to bring in Jewish immigrants from Europe on a large scale. As a result of this immigration, the demographic balance began to change rapidly, the eviction of local Arabs began in the name of land acquisition, and the seeds of conflict were sown.

For the Arabs, this was a clear betrayal. Because they had also fought on the side of the British in the First World War with the promise that they would be given independence at the end of the war. The secret agreement between the Sharif of Mecca, Hussein, and the British clearly stated that an independent Arab state would be formed. However, the Sykes-Picot Agreement divided the territory among the Europeans, and the Balfour Declaration gave Palestine to another foreign nation.

This declaration began an endless cycle of conflict. The Arab Revolt of 1936-39, the UN Partition Plan of 1947, the Nakba (catastrophe) of 1948, the declaration of the State of Israel, the displacement of thousands of Palestinians, and the subsequent Arab-Israeli wars—all have their roots in the Balfour Declaration. It not only robbed the Palestinians of their future, it was a historical injustice that continues to this day.

The Balfour Declaration was an expression of a Western hegemonic attitude that disregarded any opinion or will of Muslims. It contained a colonial arrogance, a mentality that said—“Your land, your history, your presence—all are irrelevant, if our geopolitical interests stand in the way.”

Sadly, the State of Israel was established around this declaration, and the Palestinian people lost their homeland. Today, almost a century later, the Palestinians are refugees, oppressed and oppressed. Gaza has become a prison, the West Bank has been divided into military checkpoints and settlements. Despite numerous UN resolutions, peace talks, and international negotiations, the Palestinian people have not regained their legitimate rights.

This history teaches us that any political project founded on the principle of deception leads to unrest and bloodshed in the long run. Those who today claim to be neutral on the Palestinian issue should understand that the root of this problem was a biased, unjust, and colonialist declaration.

The Balfour Declaration is a profound reminder for the Muslim world and for conscientious humanity—a reminder of how the powerful states of the world can make a nation homeless and destitute for their own interests. If this history is forgotten, another disaster will be born, and justice will become just a word spoken in the sky.