To this moment, the British government does not seem to tend to review its colonial behavior in Palestine, which led to the establishment of the Zionist entity on its territory and to the catastrophe that afflicted the people of Palestine, uprooted most of its land and destroyed its social fabric. The words of the arrogant British Prime Minister Teresa Mae, who boasts of the Balfour Declaration and the creation of "Israel", are only proof of that.
British policy has tried for decades to claim that during its occupation of Palestine in 1917-1948 it sought not to harm the Palestinian people ... and that the context of events led to that tragic end to the Palestinian people.
The following are ten clues to the British colonial political mentality that did not care for the will of the Palestinian people, which confirms that the British policy deliberately deceived and lying, and denied its promises to the Palestinians and Arabs, and exercised on the ground measures that will lead to disastrous consequences for the Palestinians, And deprived him of his aspirations for freedom and independence:
- In addition to correspondence Hussein - MacMahon 1915-1916 by understanding , including Sharif Hussein and the Arabs, that Palestine will be under Arab rule after the evacuation of the Ottomans reported, Britain made three other promises made whole after the Balfour Declaration, and an understanding of which the Arabs they came void of the Balfour Declaration and reassuring On the future of Palestine.
The first was the "Hogarth assertions" in January 1918.
The second was the "British declaration of the seven Syrians" in June 1918.
And the British-French declaration on 7/11/1918, immediately after the end of the First World War, and after the completion of the occupation of Palestine. In which Britain has committed itself to the political and economic rights of Palestinians and Arabs and not to harm them. Britain has repudiated all these covenants.
During its occupation of Palestine, Britain committed itself to implementing the first part of the Balfour Declaration to establish a "national homeland for the Jews in Palestine," but it did not comply with its second division, which included harming the rights of the Palestinians, who were then 92% of the population.
Britain has denied the essence of its mission as a mandate force in accordance with the Charter of the League of Nations. Britain obtained an international cover on 24/7/1922, appointed by a delegate to Palestine. The essence of the idea of "mandate" in accordance with the Charter of the League of Nations stipulates that the delegated force shall assist the mandated people to build their political, economic and social institutions and prepare them for independence ... which Britain has never committed to the people of Palestine. Although Britain introduced the Balfour Declaration within the mandate document
However, this did not relieve it of its responsibility towards the people of Palestine.
- Britain has deliberately adopted policies that teach that it is unjust to the Palestinians with premeditation:
Despite British propaganda, the aspirations of the Palestinian people were not worthy of attention for British leaders. For example, Balfour wrote to Lord Curzon (who later became foreign minister) on August 11, 1919, saying that in Palestine they did not want to consult people about their aspirations. The superpowers were, as he put it, committed to Zionism. "Whatever Zionism is true or false, good or bad, it is far more important than the wishes and grievances of the 700,000 Arabs who are now living in this ancient land."
The Colonial Secretary Winston Churchill mentioned in the British House of Commons on 9/2/1922 that the British policy in Palestine is "moderate" !! "It seeks, on the one hand, to persuade the [Arab] side to bow and to convince the other [the Jews] with patience." In other words, what British politicians call moderate was a process of systematic subordination to the Palestinians, but it was a gradual and careful process that required patience and no hurry from the Zionist Jews.
It was necessary to create a "Jewish homeland" in a smart and gradual manner, avoiding as much as possible the revolutions of Palestinians and Arabs that might disrupt the project, which would increase the costs of the British occupation of Palestine. Therefore, when British Prime Minister Ramsay MacDonald decided in 1931 to appoint a new High Commissioner for Palestine, he told the President of the World Zionist Movement, Chaim Weizmann, that he wanted to appoint a general to carry out the affairs with his head, not his foot.
This behavior is consistent with the insistence of the British government on rejecting the recommendations of the US Congressional Committee of King-Crane in 1919, which stated that the establishment of a Jewish state in Palestine could not be achieved without the most serious violation of the civil and religious rights of non-Jews in Palestine.
The British government ignored the British House of Lords' vote against British policy in Palestine by 60 to 29 members on June 21, 1922, because it found that its mandatory policy was rejected in its current form because it directly violated the British government's commitments to the people of Palestine.
Intentionally appoint British officials and staff in support of Zionism in Palestine. The British governor of Jerusalem (1917-1926) referred to this behavior, for example, asserting that those who showed empathy with the Arabs were eliminated, as Norman Bentwich, a Jewish Zionist, assumed the post of attorney general during the 1920s.
Direct colonial rule: Although British colonial policy tended to indirect colonization through local rulers who follow its policy and work under its roof, but in Palestine to direct rule, although the capabilities, competencies and experiences that were owned by the Palestinian people, were Are far greater than those in other countries whose members have assumed leadership and leadership. The High Representative was the "unqualified king" who had almost absolute powers. At the same time, Britain has stubbornly refused to form a Palestinian government even under its supervision, and has refused to hold parliamentary elections that correctly represent the population of Palestine.
And all ministries controlled the political, economic, educational and legal institutions in Palestine; and the British took over the management, at a time when the Palestinians are deprived of their institutions to develop themselves, and equip themselves for the post-British withdrawal and independence. It is true that the Palestinians were denied the establishment of a military force that could protect them and protect the country after the British withdrawal, while allowing the Jews to develop large military structures in preparation for the crucial plan.
- Delegates Sammon high military backgrounds: Palestine has been under direct British military rule in the period 1917-1920, where he ruled Mooney then Watson then the Bulls are all generals in the British army. When he was transferred to civilian rule, the post of "High Commissioner" was often retired from the military.
(1928-1931) was an officer in the Department of Intelligence at the War Department; Arthur Wackhope (1931-1938) was a general, John Gort (1944-1945), Alan Gordon (1945-1948) were both generals. Herbert Samuel (1925-1950) was a Jew and a former interior minister of the British government. Harold McMichael (1938-1944) was an orientalist. Most of the period under which Palestine was governed was under martial law because of the Palestinian revolution and then because of the Second World War. Much of the powers of the High Commissioner were transferred to the commander of military forces in Palestine.
- Restructuring and building the judicial and legal system in accordance with its policy in Palestine, and providing it with cover to suppress revolutions and uprisings, depriving the Palestinians of their rights, facilitating immigration and Jewish settlement and transferring land ownership and granting Palestinian citizenship to all Jewish immigrants.
The mission took place in the twenties of the Zionist Zionist Norman Bentwich, supervised the issuance of more than 350 laws and regulations. The Palestinians were always complaining about his grievances while he was charged with guarding "justice" in Palestine !!
The British authorities have passed laws on collective punishment, administrative detention without charge, military courts, forced labor, etc., so that the repression and aspirations of the Palestinian people become an act under the protection of the "law" !!
- Although Britain has formally committed itself to the establishment of a "national homeland for the Jews," a loose term that does not necessarily mean the establishment of a state, it has been practically working to create a state for the Jews. For example, when Balfour was asked on 7/2/1918 about this, he said that his personal desire that the Jews would use the opportunity to create a "Jewish state", adding that it was them "we gave them their great opportunity."
Opening the door to the Jews to build state institutions and strengthen themselves, and prevent the Palestinians from doing so, is the policy adopted undeclared or unwritten that has been implemented. The Zionists established the Jewish Agency, which carried out tasks similar to those of the state in Palestine, through which the Jewish economic, educational and social structures were developed. At the same time that Britain crushed the Palestinian revolutions and uprisings, especially in 1920, 1921, 1929, 1933, and the Great Revolution 1936-1939, they supported or permitted or set up military and semi-military Zionist forces such as Haganah, conscript. This, with reference to the presence of five thousand recruits from Argon, and two thousand recruits from Stern (about three times the Arab armies that entered Palestine in May 1948, which was about 24 thousand soldiers).
Evidence suggests MI4, together with an intelligence branch called "Special Operations" (SOE), played an important role in the establishment and training of elite military units in the Haganah known as the Palmach in 1941.
In 1944, the British government allowed Jewish Zionists to set up special military units under the pretext of supporting the British and Americans in the Second World War. By the end of the war, the Zionists had recruited and trained 32,000 Jewish soldiers.
Thus, under British occupation and supervision, the number of Jews in Palestine was 12 times from 55,000 in 1918 to 650,000 in 1948 (from 8% to 31.7% of the population) and their land ownership doubled from 1.8% to 6% of the land of Palestine.
- Ignore or abolish the recommendations of British commissions of inquiry: ignoring John Hopkins' recommendations regarding land and Jewish immigration control, and the White Paper issued in October 1930 by the Black Book in February 1932, Recommendations that gave some positive spirit to the Palestinians. The White Paper issued in May 1939, in which Britain pledged to establish an independent Palestinian state within ten years, and to prevent Jewish immigration after five years, with the consent of the Palestinians, with no more than one-third of the population and halting the sale of land to Jews . However, it canceled this pledge on 13 November 1945 when it issued the so-called Bevin statement, which was Britain's foreign minister.
The previous ten points prove that the British government has played a deliberate, consciously and premeditated role in making Palestine under conditions that can only lead to catastrophic damage to the Palestinian people. When the British government decided to end its occupation of Palestine and brought it up to the United Nations in 1947, the Palestinians, physically and economically exhausted, militarily crushed, and deprived for 30 years of managing their country's institutions themselves, faced a Zionist project that struck the foundations of its political, economic, military and educational institutions. And was able to resolve the battle with the Palestinians. The project had a supportive international environment, which refused to give the people of Palestine the right to self-determination, apart from the charters of the United Nations, and decided to partition Palestine without consulting its people. The British influence in Egypt and Jordan at that time reflected negatively on the possibility of providing real support to the people of Palestine in order to change the balance of power in his favor.
Therefore, the Zionists managed with international assistance to resolve the 1948 Palestine War in their favor. They took over 77% of the land of Palestine and displaced more than 800,000 Palestinians out of a total of 400,000 and they are the total of the Palestinian people, about 57%. State "of Israel.
The British role was crucial in causing the Palestinian people's tragedy. Their land remains occupied, and the majority of their children are still displaced and refugees outside Palestine, as well as refugees living in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. The question of Palestine has occupied the region and the world for the past 70 years.
British behavior has opened doors in the region to a series of wars, conflicts, bloodshed and suffering. It is a historic responsibility that can not be evaded. As a first step, Britain should apologize to the people of Palestine for the disasters they have caused.
In theory, the British apology seems possible, as Britain has apologized for its role in slave trade in the colonial era and apologized for its role in the 19th century famine in Ireland.
But this seems elusive in contemporary reality for many reasons, most notably that the ruling political class (conservatives, workers, liberals) does not tend to make such an apology for political, religious, cultural or welfare backgrounds ... and others. Large British sectors still believe in the so-called "historic right of the Jews in Palestine" and sympathize with the Israeli narrative and with historical grievances (mostly by the Europeans themselves).
Zionist influence is still more present and stronger in the literature of British politics. Despite the growing presence of the Palestinian right, it still has a long way to go to reach the wider sectors of the British street and convince them.
There is also a great fear that the British apology to the Palestinian people will open the door to huge claims burdened by the British budget, in compensation to the Palestinian people.
The current strong situation of "Israel", and the weakness and fragmentation of the Arab contribute also to weaken the pressure on Britain.
The British apology opens the door to extremely dangerous files in the Western mind, such as the legitimacy of the existence of the Israeli entity itself, and the obligations of the international community to restore the rights of the Palestinian people ... This makes the British apology associated with accounts that do not concern the British alone ... and anger the American allies and Zionist lobbies in the world and "Israel" and many Western powers.
The Palestinian Authority and the PLO do not appear to be seriously concerned about the British apology for the Balfour Declaration, especially since it signed the Oslo Accords, which recognize the Israeli entity and its "legitimacy" over most of the historic land of Palestine and have international obligations under it. Therefore, what it does is nothing more than an expression of feelings or a media response to the Palestinian popular scene ... while massive and systematic efforts are required at the Palestinian, Arab, Islamic and international levels to create an unprecedented pressure situation to entrench the British political elite at least in the corner.
Thus, there should be little betting on a British apology in the short term and mediator. However, any effort now being made in this regard by individuals, experts, politicians, media professionals, civil society organizations and others ... is a commendable effort. It may eventually lead to Britain's obligation to apologize to the Palestinian people.
