Statement from the Palestinian Union of Latin America (UPAL)
November 2, 2025
108 Years Since the Balfour Declaration: A Colonial Promise That Still Bleeds Palestine
One hundred and eight years ago, on November 2, 1917, the then British Foreign Secretary, Arthur James Balfour, signed a letter addressed to Lord Rothschild that would go down in history as the symbol of modern colonialism in the Middle East: the Balfour Declaration. In it, the British Empire promised the creation of a “Jewish national home” in Palestine—a land that did not belong to it—without the consent of its native people.
That promise, made in the midst of the First World War, was the starting point of a historical tragedy: the occupation of Palestine, the ethnic cleansing of 1948 (Nakba), and the imposition of a regime of apartheid and colonization that continues today under the protection of Western powers.
One hundred and eight years after that act of colonial betrayal, the Palestinian people continue to pay the price for a promise that was not theirs. From the Nakba to the genocide in Gaza, history has repeated itself with the same impunity. Thousands of children, women, and elderly people have been murdered by the Israeli occupation army under the complicit gaze of the powers that proclaim themselves defenders of human rights. Gaza today is a mirror of the crime initiated by the British Empire in 1917.
The Balfour Declaration was not a mere diplomatic document. It was the foundational act of dispossession and the denial of the Palestinian right to self-determination. The United Kingdom did not hand over an empty territory, but a country with a culture, a people, and a history spanning millennia.
Today, the Palestinian Union of Latin America (UPAL) reaffirms:
That the Palestinian people will never renounce their historical right to all their land, from the river to the sea.
That the so-called “Balfour Declaration” constitutes a violation of international law and the basic principles of sovereignty and self-determination.
The complicity of colonial powers and the silence of international organizations perpetuate the impunity of Zionism and Palestinian suffering.
We demand that the United Kingdom officially acknowledge its historical responsibility for the occupation of Palestine and apologize for the irreparable harm inflicted on generations of Palestinians.
Justice and memory do not expire. As long as a key remains in the hands of a Palestinian refugee, the Balfour Declaration will continue to serve as a reminder that the freedom of Palestine is a debt owed to all humanity.
Long live a free and united Palestine!
Palestinian Union of Latin America – UPAL
November 2, 2025
