British government: Balfour Declaration ‘had its flaws’

A senior British official acknowledged that the Balfour Declaration “had its flaws”, speaking during a Westminster Hall debate yesterday.

The debate, secured by Conservative MP Caroline Ansell, was focused on the upcoming centenary of the 1917 Balfour Declaration, and how the government should respond to the anniversary.

Tobias Ellwood, the parliamentary under-secretary of state for foreign and commonwealth affairs, responding to the debate on behalf of the government, appeared to be trying to strike a balance, saying that while the centenary will be marked, “we will neither celebrate nor apologise”.

Ellwood admitted that “the Balfour Declaration had its flaws”; while “it called for the protection of the ‘civil and religious rights of existing non-Jewish communities in Palestine’,” he said, “it should have protected their political rights, too, most especially their right to self-determination.”

Ellwood also tied the historic document to the current day impasse, noting that “Israel has achieved statehood while the Palestinians have not.” He added: “The UK government are very clear that the occupation of the Palestinian territories is unacceptable and unsustainable.”

Ellwood recognised that “not everyone will be happy with the government’s position on the anniversary of the Balfour Declaration.”

“Some will want to celebrate the anniversary unreservedly and will see our position as insufficient. Some will condemn it. They will want us to make the apology and will consider marking the anniversary improper.”