Key Point One: The Balfour Declaration and the Beginning of Israeli Colonialism

The 1917 Balfour Declaration laid the groundwork for a radical transformation of Palestine, promising a national home for the Jewish people in a land where 94% of the population was Palestinian. This promise, made without consulting the indigenous inhabitants, triggered a systematic process of dispossession that disregarded their historical and cultural rights. Under the British Mandate, mass immigration and land acquisitions by European settlers were facilitated, solidifying the foundation for a settler-colonial regime.

Zionist colonialism in Palestine was not only about land control but also the dismantling of Palestinian social structures. As British policies favored settlers, Palestinians faced increasing marginalization through legal and economic restrictions designed to weaken their cohesion as a society. Meanwhile, settlers developed institutions and political structures to consolidate their control, placing the indigenous population at a stark disadvantage.