BICOM

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu travels to London today for a series of events to mark the centenary of the 1917 Balfour Declaration, when the British Government expressed its support for the creation of a Jewish national home.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will attend several events including a dinner with British Prime Minister Theresa May. May has said that Britain should mark the centenary “with pride,” whilst Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson called the declaration “indispensable to the creation of a great nation”.

At Sunday’s weekly Cabinet meeting, Netanyahu said the Declaration “started the international movements that led to Israel’s establishment… The state would not have been established without settlement, without the sacrifice and without the willingness to fight for it, but the international setting in motion was without doubt the Balfour Declaration.” The Knesset will also commemorate the centenary of the Declaration at a ceremony next week, which members of the Joint List have announced they will boycott.

In a related development, a coalition of organisations have arranged a demonstration against the Balfour Declaration centenary commemoration in London on Saturday. Israel’s Army Radio has reported that Public Security and Strategic Affairs Minister Gilad Erdan sent a letter to Security minister Ben Wallace and London Mayor Sadiq Khan warning that “the event is being organised by extremist organisations with links to Hamas”.

Erdan said: “If the event does go ahead as scheduled, I would urge you to take every step necessary to ensure that it is free of incitement against Israel’s existence, and does not contribute to the hostile atmosphere for those who support Israel’s right to exist as the national home of the Jewish people.”