The painting "Lord Balfour" is on display at Trinity College, Cambridge University, dating back to 1914 (French)

An activist destroyed a picture of the famous British Foreign Secretary Arthur James Balfour, who promised the Israelis a national homeland in Palestine, at Trinity College, Cambridge University, in the context of the Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip.

The "Palestine Action" platform published scenes of an activist spraying paint and tearing up the painting "Lord Balfour", which dates back to 1914.

The group stated in a post on its account that the Balfour Declaration of 1917 was the reason for the Palestinians’ loss of their homeland, and that they carried out this act to emphasize Britain’s historical and current role in the occupation of Palestine.

She added, "The Balfour Declaration written in 1917 was the cause of the beginning of ethnic cleansing in Palestine, through the promise of lands to which the British never had any right."

The Balfour Declaration was issued in 1917, and was a major factor in establishing the State of Israel on the territory of Palestine occupied in 1948, while the Palestinians are still waiting to establish their independent state until now.

BREAKING: Palestine Action spray and slash a historic painting of Lord Balfour in Trinity College, University of Cambridge.

Written in 1917, Balfour's declaration began the ethnic cleansing of Palestine by promising the land away — which the British never had the right to do.

pic.twitter.com/CGmh8GadQG

— Palestine Action (@Pal_action) March 8, 2024

Balfour Declaration

On November 2, 1917, then British Foreign Secretary Arthur James Balfour (who later served as Prime Minister) sent a letter to Lord Lionel Walter Rothschild, one of the leaders of the Zionist movement, later known as the “Balfour Declaration.”

The text of the letter stated: “His Majesty’s Government views with favor the establishment of a national homeland for the Jewish people in Palestine, and will exert its greatest efforts to facilitate the achievement of this goal.”

In his letter, Balfour claimed that Britain would preserve the rights of other nationalities residing in Palestine, which it did not adhere to.

The promise coincided with Britain’s occupation of the entire territory of historic Palestine during World War I (1914-1918).

A year later, Italy and France announced their approval of it, followed by American approval in 1919, then Japan followed suit in the same year.

During the British occupation of Palestine (1917-1948), London worked to bring in Jews from all countries of the world, organize them, and provide them with support to establish the State of Israel.

Source: Al Jazeera + agencies