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Israel: Palestinian Move to Sue Britain for Balfour Declaration Negates Reciprocal Recognition
(Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs) Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs Director-General Dore Gold responded on Wednesday to the Palestinian move to sue Britain for issuing the Balfour Declaration. The initiative "demonstrates yet again the continuing refusal of the Palestinian side to recognize the legitimate and indigenous connection of the Jewish people to their ancient homeland, alongside the recognition the Palestinians seek for their own rights." The Balfour Declaration was incorporated by the League of Nations into the 1922 Mandate for Palestine that recognized the historical connection of the Jewish people to that area and provided the grounds for them to reconstitute their national home there. "The League of Nations Mandate had the effect of transforming the policy position expressed in the Balfour Declaration into an internationally recognized international legal obligation to give effect to the inherent right of the Jewish people to self-determination in their ancient homeland.... Significantly, neither the Balfour Declaration nor the Mandate created the historical rights of the Jewish people to their homeland. Rather, these documents together recognized pre-existing rights that the Jewish people never conceded. Indeed thousands of Jews poured back into their ancient homeland well before the Balfour Declaration was issued."