AMP Reflects Upon the Disastrous Balfour Declaration

American Muslims for Palestine (AMP) solemnly reflects upon the 109th anniversary of the Balfour Declaration with grief and pain. On behalf of the British Zionist Federation, the British government gave Palestine away – something they had no right to do. From the injustices done to the Palestinian people in 1917, to the United Nations’ (UN) partition of Palestine in 1947, to the Nakba of 1948 and Israel’s occupation in 1967, all the way to the ongoing genocide in Gaza and ethnic cleansing campaign in the occupied West Bank: The Balfour Declaration triggered the dispossession and suffering of the Palestinian people.

We commemorate this tragic moment in history as a reminder that Balfour was not merely a historical document, but an event with dire consequences that Palestinians still endure to this day. Over seven million Palestinians live in exile outside their land, while those who remain have been victimized by Israel’s genocide, apartheid, and occupation in the West Bank and Gaza – through which our people are killed and ethnically cleansed in broad daylight. As these crimes continue unabated, the world must acknowledge that the Balfour Declaration laid the foundation for the cycle of Israeli impunity we see today.

The global community’s passivity in allowing Israel to enact its project of extermination against Palestine – a conclusion reached by the UN Independent Commission of Inquiry just days ago – must end. That is why we call upon the international community to impose consequences for Israel’s heinous crimes against the Palestinian people. It is incumbent upon the world to stand up and rectify the century-long miscarriage of justice that has befallen the Palestinian people.

Over a century of ethnic cleansing, genocide, and inaction must come to an end. AMP will continue to demand the fulfillment of the fundamental rights denied to Palestinians for generations. The Palestinian people deserve to live with honor, safety, and dignity. From Balfour to the genocide in Gaza, these tragedies have hardened our resolve for freedom, not diminished it.