“We are here to mark the 100 Years of illegitimate Balfour declaration and remember seven decades long Palestinian struggle. The British government has not taken any steps to correct the historical injustice and never apologized to the Palestinian people. They have neither compensated nor recognized the rights of the people of Palestine. On the contrary, they are celebrating the crime they committed a century ago. We are thankful to the people in India and various parts of the world for their continuous support to the Palestinian cause and for pressurizing their governments to speak for our cause,” said Dr. Wael Albattrekhi, Deputy Ambassador of Palestine at a program, organised by Jamaat-e-Islami Hind, at its headquarters on 25 November.
Prof. ZikrUrRehman, former Ambassador of India to Palestine, while speaking on, “100 Years of Balfour and Palestinian Struggle,” said it was not a declaration but rather a conspiracy against the Palestinian people. While reminding the audience about historical developments after the Balfour declaration and subsequent struggle of the Palestinian people, he said, on the basis of the ground reality and having seen the commitment of the Palestinians to their cause it becomes clear that the aspirations of the Palestinian people will become a reality one day. In reply to a question, Rehman said, “as per my experience and knowledge, I can say with responsibility, that no Muslim country will ever hobnob with Israel to conspire against Palestinians under any circumstances, as long as Palestinian issue is not resolved completely.”
Prof. Rama Krishnan of JawaharLal Nehru University speaking on this occasion said, the Balfour declaration has not only harmed Palestinian people but the notion of justice in the world, particularly to the downtrodden people who are oppressed by imperialism in different forms. He asked the people in India and the world community to resist against any injustice towards Palestinians.
Secretary-General, Jamaat-e-Islami Hind, Mohammad Salim Engineer, while delivering the vote of thanks informed about the solidarity shown to the Palestinian cause by the people particularly by Jamaat-e-Islamic Hind and other organisations including civil society groups. He also reminded about the efforts made by the Jamaat to put pressure on the government to follow the age-old stand on the issue and affirmed that the efforts will continue unless justice is done to the Palestinians.