RAMALLAH, Nov. 2 (Xinhua) -- Secretary General of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) Saeb Erekat on Saturday demanded Britain to apologize for the Balfour Declaration that allowed Israel to be established on the lands of Palestine 102 years ago.
"Marking 102 years of the Balfour Declaration should serve as a reminder for the United Kingdom of its historical, political, moral and legal responsibility to take substantive action and play a proactive role in the fulfillment of the national rights of the people of Palestine," Erekat said in a press statement.
He urged Britain to apologize for "the resulting injustice of a colonialist statement that denied the Palestinian people's political rights, and to take proactive measures against Israel's settlement, including its products, companies, and funding sources."
Although all those actions will not "remediate all consequences of the Balfour Declaration," Erekat said. "But they will serve as a model for the rest of the international community to work for a just and lasting peace in Palestine, the Middle East, and the world."
The Balfour Declaration was a statement by the British government on Nov. 2, 1917, announcing its support for the Jewish people to build their state on the lands of Palestine.
