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UK reportedly holds Balfour Declaration event in Israel with no fanfare

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stands alone at the door of 10 Downing Street after arriving for a meeting in central London on February 6, 2017 with British Prime Minister Theresa May. (Photo by AFP)

Despite remarks by British Prime Minister Theresa May about being “proud” of the Balfour Declaration, the country holds a low-key event in Israel to commemorate its 100th anniversary, a report says.

The event was not attended by any other than some Britons living in Israel, Israeli newspaper Haaretz reported Saturday.

The Wednesday event was held in the backyard garden of the residence of the British ambassador to Israel, David Quarrey, in Ramat Gan, located east of Tel Aviv.

No other senior representatives from the British government took part in the event. Similarly, no senior Israeli officials were in attendance.

The declaration, signed by Arthur James Balfour, 1st Earl of Balfour, is considered a prelude to the Israeli occupation of Palestinians’ homeland in 1948.

‘Just an embarrassment for UK’

The event was supposedly the only one held by London to mark the 100th anniversary.

May told the House of Commons during Prime Minister’s Questions on Wednesday that London is “proud of the role that we played in the creation” of the regime and that “we will certainly mark the centenary with pride.”

According to Haaretz, “For many past and present members of the Foreign Office, it has been less pride and a good deal more embarrassment.”

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May is also set to commemorate the declaration by having a private dinner with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu next Thursday night in London, hosted by the current Lords Balfour and Rothschild, to whose great-uncle the Balfour Declaration was addressed.

British Prime Minister Theresa May (L) poses shaking hands with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (R) after Netanyahu arrived for a meeting at 10 Downing Street in central London on February 6, 2017. (Photo by AFP)

The Israeli regime is planning to hold its own event at the Israeli parliament (Knesset) the following Tuesday, but no senior British official, except Quarrey, is set to take part.

Bibi’s trip to London mostly serves as a “welcome respite for him and his wife Sara from the police investigations" in Israel, according to the report.

The regime, meanwhile, continues its expansionist policies by construction of settlements in Palestine while committing atrocities against the Muslim nation.


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