Great Britain will be celebrating the 100th anniversary of the issuing of the Balfour Declaration in November of 2017, and Theresa May has invited Benjamin Netanyahu to join the festivities. The prime minister was in the UK on an official visit in early February. In addition to his talks with Prime Minister May, Mr. Netanyahu visited the room where the declaration was signed. “Being in this room was a particularly moving moment for me as Prime Minister of Israel,” he wrote on Facebook, “…exactly the place where nearly 100 years ago Foreign Secretary Balfour signed the declaration recognizing the right of the Jewish people to a national home in the Land of Israel.”

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“The Balfour Declaration was incorporated into the terms of the British Mandate and adopted by the United Nations, “ Mr. Netanyahu said, “and until today it remains a binding document that defines the international legal status of the Land of Israel.”  (https://worldisraelnews.com/netanyahu-has-moving-moment-at-location-of-balfour-declaration/)

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Palestinian president-for-life Abbas “deplored” the invitation extended to Mr. Netanyahu, according to a spokesman quoted in a report by the Xinhua News Agency. (http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2017-02/07/c_136038517.htm) The Palestinian Authority had earlier announced its intention of suing Britain over the issuing of the document, nearly 100 years ago, a move that Mr. Netanyahu has described as one example of their refusal to accept Israel’s existence as a Jewish state.