Judging from its reaction to the 94th anniversary of the Balfour Declaration, Hamas probably isn't about to change its commitment to terrorism and the destruction of Israel anytime soon.
On Nov. 2, 1917, British Foreign Secretary Arthur James Lord Balfour announced that his government views "with favour the establishment in Palestine a national home for the Jewish People," laying the foundation for the creation of Israel more than 30 years later.
Hamas issued a statement Wednesday calling the Balfour Declaration "infamous" and "illegal," and declaring that Great Britain and other supporters of Israel are to blame for "racist and Zionist crimes." It cited Palestinian success in kidnapping Gilad Shalit and winning the release of imprisoned terrorists as proof that only "resistance" (terrorism) can "liberate Palestine and the stolen rights."
Similar statements bemoaning the Balfour Declaration were issued by Islamist groups.
"Everything thing (sic) that has befallen Palestine – It's (sic) partition, the settlements, random arrests and detentions, the Apartheid Wall, the siege on Gaza, and the millions of Palestinians living in exile…was made possible because of the Balfour Declaration," said American Muslims for Palestine, whose leaders include at least two men connected with the Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development, a Hamas fundraising front.
The declaration "began the Zionists' process of ethnically cleansing … Palestinians from their homeland, which continues until today," AMP said.