On 2 November 1917, Britain issued the infamous Balfour Declaration, a letter that promised the establishment of a “national home for the Jewish people” in Palestine, disregarding the existence and rights of its indigenous population. That single statement set in motion a century-long tragedy for Palestinians, whose homeland was gradually taken from them through displacement, dispossession, and denial of their fundamental rights.

What began as a political pledge from a colonial power became the foundation of one of the world’s most enduring injustices. Entire villages were destroyed, lands confiscated, and families forced into exile. Over a hundred years later, the consequences of that declaration continue to unfold: Palestinians live under occupation, their lands fragmented by illegal settlements and separation walls that suffocate daily life.

For Palestinians, the anniversary of the Balfour Declaration is not a moment in history but a continuing wound, a reminder that promises made in distant capitals can still dictate the fate of a people struggling for freedom and dignity on their own land.