PALESTINE campaigners penetrated an inner chamber in Parliament on Saturday and sprayed fake blood on a statue of the politician held responsible for initiating the creation of the state of Israel in Palestine.

BREAKING: Palestine Action strike the heart of the British government to deface Balfour's statue in the House of Commons #Balfour105 #DecolonisePalestine #ShutElbitDown pic.twitter.com/C8udrktm5t

— Palestine Action (@Pal_action) November 12, 2022

Activists from Palestine Action said their unprecedented operation, which evaded security guards and police, struck at the very heart of government.

The activists entered the Private Members’ Lobby in Westminster Hall where they targeted the statue of former prime minister Sir Arthur Balfour who, as Conservative foreign secretary in 1917, issued his declaration promising to establish a national home for the Jewish people in Palestine.

Israel was created three decades later in 1948 — accompanied by the brutal eviction of 750,000 Palestinians from their homes and the destruction of 500 communities. The events are known in Palestine as the “nakba” (great catastrophe).

The activists in the lobby doused Balfour’s statue with fake blood, unveiled a Palestinian flag, glued themselves to the statue’s plinth and made statements declaring his culpability.

Palestine Action said security guards quickly evacuated the lobby to prevent onlookers from watching, hearing or filming the event.

The group said: “The British government in 1917 and every single one since has profited from the crimes it committed 105 years ago and is still committing to this day — from troops on the ground to arming from afar, complicity didn’t stop.

“Palestine Action will make sure it does.”

The direct action group also targets Israeli-owned Elbit arms factories in Britain, which manufacture drones and pilotless aircraft used by the Israeli military.