Arab League Renews Call for Palestinian State on Balfour Anniversary

The Arab League marked the 109th anniversary of the Balfour Declaration on November 2 by renewing its call for an end to Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territories and for an independent Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital. The statement placed Palestinian self-determination at the center of an anniversary that remains a point of sharp disagreement over the declaration’s legacy. Issued by British Foreign Secretary Arthur James Balfour on November 2, 1917, the declaration expressed the British government’s support for establishing a national home for the Jewish people in Palestine. It also said that nothing should prejudice the civil and religious rights of the territory’s existing non-Jewish communities. Its meaning and consequences continue to be interpreted differently by Israelis and Palestinians and their supporters. The Arab League said the declaration contributed to Palestinian displacement and the denial of Palestinian national rights. It reaffirmed support for Palestinian self-determination and said a lasting settlement required ending the occupation and implementing a two-state solution. The organization called for a sovereign Palestinian state...