London – Two women have been arrested by police after entering the House of Commons to deface a memorial statue of former Prime Minister Arthur Balfour.
Activists from the Palestine Action, reportedly pretending to be tourists, squirted tomato ketchup on the statue in the Parliament building earlier this morning.
The activists used tourist passes to enter the members’ lobby of the House of Commons before aiming for a memorial statue of former Prime Minister Lord Arthur Balfour, signer of the Balfour Declaration, a 1917 document that promised the formation of a “national homeland for the Jewish people”.‘ in Palestine.
The controversial deal is seen by human rights groups as the start of the “ethnic cleansing of Palestine” and its 105th anniversary has been marked by protests in Britain.
As he sprayed the statue with what the group described as “fake blood,” one of the protesters shouted, “The Palestinians have suffered for 105 years at the hands of this man, Lord Balfour, he gave away their homeland, and it was not his.” to give it. ”
The two protesters then taped themselves to the statue and unfurled a small Palestinian flag while shouting “Free Palestine.”
Palestine Action activists demolished the statue while shouting “Free Palestine”.
The stunt was held to raise awareness of the legacy of the Balfour Accords, according to a statement from Palestine Action.
“Up until 1948, according to the Declaration, the British burned down indigenous villages to prepare the way; Added to this were arbitrary killings, arrests, torture, sexual violence including rape of women and men, the use of human shields and the introduction of house demolitions as a collective punishment to suppress Palestinian resistance,” the group said.
“The British initiated the ethnic cleansing of Palestine and fulfilled the Zionist goal of establishing their “homeland” over the Palestinian communities, towns, villages, farms and ancestral lands rich in heritage, culture and ancient archaeological history.
Two women were arrested and detained by police after the attack on the Lord Balfour statue
Palestine Action is a direct action network of groups and individuals taking direct action against corporations and institutions it describes as facilitating the “colonization of Palestine.” In the West Midlands, the organization has targeted factories linked to Elbit Systems.
“The Palestinians refer to this period as the Nakba – which translates to the great catastrophe. In 1948, the British-trained Zionist militia exiled over 750,000 Palestinians, destroyed over 500 villages and forced those who remained to live under brutal occupation.”
The Metropolitan Police said in a statement: “Police were alerted at 11.20am on Saturday 12 November to two women who had entered Parliament House with tourist tickets.
Palestine Action activists doused the Arthur Balfour statue in ketchup, saying it represented “blood.”
“They taped themselves to a statue in the Members’ Lobby in the House of Commons and threw ketchup over the statue and a wall.”
The two women were arrested on charges of vandalism and taken to a London police station, where they remained on Saturday evening (November 12).
