Palestinians Burn British Flag on Balfour Declaration Anniversary

By JTA November 3, 2015

Palestinian demonstrators in Gaza burned British, American and Israeli flags to mark the anniversary of the Balfour Declaration.

Members of the al-Nasser Salah al-Deen Brigades brandished guns, swords and axes at a demonstration Monday in Rafah, the the London-based Daily Mail reported.

The demonstrators then burned the flags of the three countries.

Signed on Nov. 2, 1917, by British Foreign Secretary Arthur Balfour, the Balfour Declaration stated that the British government “views with favor the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people and would use their best endeavors to facilitate the achievement of this object.”

The declaration, issued while the area that is now Israel was still under the control of the Ottoman Empire, represented a pivotal victory for Zionists and has been credited with helping pave the way for the establishment of the State of Israel in 1948.

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