Palestinian flag flies half-mast on Balfour anniversary

Manama : The Palestinian flag was hoisted half-mast yesterday at its Embassy headquarters in Manama on the centennial of the Balfour Declaration.

The Palestinian community living in Bahrain addressed two separate memos to the United Nations (UN) Secretary-General and the British Ambassador to Bahrain.

The memos deplored the Balfour Declarations, which was issued by the British Foreign Secretary Arthur Balfour to Lord Walter Rothschild, on November 2, 1917, paving the way for the establishment of the State of Israel in 1948 to the detriment of the rights of the Arab Palestinian people, who have been living on their lands for thousands of years.

A delegation representing the Palestinian community in Bahrain to Manama-based United Nations Office media director Samir Al-Darabea, on behalf of the UN Secretary-General António Guterres.

The memo urges the UN Secretary-General to step up international concerted efforts to end the Israeli occupation of the Palestinian lands, establish an independent and sovereign Palestinian state, with Al-Quds as its capital and admit the Palestine as full member of the United Nations.

The community has delivered a second memo to the British Ambassador to Bahrain Simon Martin and was received on his behalf by the Political Affairs Officer Graham Jason.

Submitted by Rami Rashid on behalf of the community, the memo recalled the injustice done to the Palestinian people due to the infamous Balfour Declaration a century ago.

The memo called upon the British Government to acknowledge its historical crime, instead of celebrating the centennial of the Balfour Declaration, apologise for its sin, work with international community to end the Israeli occupation and recognize the Palestinian state with Al-Quds as its capital.

The memo also urged the British Government to recognize the Palestinian state immediately and back the Palestinians’ efforts seeking the UN Security Council recognition of its state, on par with all other states in the world.