Britain has sought to play down the visit of Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu as he arrives in London to commemorate the centenary of the Balfour Declaration. The colonial-era document signalled British support for the creation of the Jewish state.
Prime Minister Theresa May will attend a dinner with Netanyahu at Lancaster House, but the engagement is not being hosted by the government. May, however, is expected to say that the UK is “proud of its pioneering role in the creation of the state of Israel.”
The declaration, written by Britain’s Foreign Secretary Arthur Balfour during the First World War, expressed the government’s support for “the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people.” Israel and Jewish communities elsewhere view the pledge as momentous, while Palestinians regard it as a historical injustice. The UK has rejected calls to apologize for its role.