COMMENT | 67 words of destruction: Unravelling Palestine's struggle

COMMENT | Words matter. The beginning of the destruction of historical Palestine was marked by just 67 words in the Balfour Declaration of the British government in November 1917:

“His Majesty’s government view with favour the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people, and will use their best endeavours to facilitate the achievement of this object, it being clearly understood that nothing shall be done which may prejudice the civil and religious rights of existing non-Jewish communities in Palestine, or the rights and political status enjoyed by Jews in any other country.”

It was diplomatic language. But note that the indigenous Palestinians were not even referred to by name. They were referred to only by what they were not - “the non-Jewish communities in Palestine”. And recognition as a nation is given only to the Jewish people to come - not to the Palestinians who were already there.

I asked myself how I would use 67 words to describe what has happened since...