- Online rumors that "Palestine is seeking 2 trillion pounds in compensation from Britain" are groundless. The statement may have originated from the headline of the British tabloid Daily Mail, but its body did not mention the source of the online amount, nor did it explain the details of the legal experts cited.
Previously, Palestinian President Abbas had publicly stated that the Palestinian people deserved an apology, compensation and compensation from the United Kingdom and the United States, without mentioning the £2 trillion claim.
- On Sept. 7, the Palestinians submitted a petition of more than 400 pages listing several articles of international law, asking the British government to acknowledge historic breaches and to initiate investigations and negotiations on the form of compensation.
Event background
On September 21, the United Kingdom, Canada and Australia issued separate statements announcing their recognition of the State of Palestine.
Recently, there were rumors on social media platforms that “Palestine is seeking £2 trillion in compensation from the UK, and after recognition, Palestinian National Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas has cited international law demanding compensation from the UK for its rule from 1917 to 1948.”
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Where did the legend come from?
According to the search results, on September 20, the British Daily Mail, citing the views of legal experts, published an article entitled “The British Prime Minister’s Decision to Recognize that the Palestinian State May Have Caused Britain to Pay £2 Trillion in Compensation,” in which it was written: “The President of the Palestinian National Authority, Mahmoud Abbas, has long threatened to prosecute Britain, asking Britain to ‘reimburse in accordance with international law’ the value of land under British rule between 1917 and 1948.
But the original report does not actually mention where Abbas indicated the amount, nor does it specify the details of the legal experts cited.
A Reuters verification report released on October 7 found that a senior Palestinian official said the claim that “Palestine is seeking £2 trillion in compensation from Britain” was completely false, spread before Britain recognized the establishment of a Palestinian state in order to put pressure on Britain.
In 2024, Professor of Middle East History at the University of Michigan, Juan Cole, also published figures on his blog, saying that the value of the land lost by the Palestinians in 1948 was about $500 million, while the total value of Israeli real estate now is about $2.5 trillion, “$2.5 trillion should be a good start for the UK to pay compensation to the Palestinians.”
But it should be noted that Juan Cole recently told Reuters that the estimate was based on his own calculations, and he did not know how much the Palestinian President Abbas specifically mentioned when he previously demanded compensation.
On September 21, the Palestinian news agency "WAFA" reported that President Mahmoud Abbas welcomed British Prime Minister Kiir Stammer's official announcement of recognition of the independent and sovereign state of Palestine. The report identified some of the top priorities at the moment, but did not mention the issue of compensation.
What is the basis for the Palestinian claim to Britain for compensation?
On September 21, 2023, Abbas emphasized in his speech at the United Nations that "Israel will bear full responsibility for the consequences of turning political conflicts into religious conflicts... But the role of Britain and the United States in the Balfour Declaration should also be held accountable, and the Palestinian people should receive an apology, compensation and compensation." However, Abbas did not attach a specific amount to such compensation claims.
The Balfour Declaration was a political statement issued by the British government during World War I (November 2, 1917), in which the British government made a formal commitment to allow large-scale return of Jews to Palestine to establish a "national homeland."
On September 7 this year, a petition submitted by Palestinians to the British government claimed that war crimes were committed during the British occupation of Palestine, and held Britain responsible for their "series of violations of international law", including the 1917 Balfour Declaration.
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The 400-page petition cites several international legal articles such as the Draft Articles on Responsibility of States for Internationally Wrongful Acts, ILC 2001, the Mandate for Palestine, 1922, and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, 1948, tracing back Britain’s legal responsibility, and urging the British government to acknowledge historical breaches and initiate investigations and negotiations on forms of compensation.
In other words, the initial appeal of this petition is a political and legal request and a procedural request, rather than a fixed value compensation claim.
In fact, the industry has been exploring the legal validity of “the UK violates international law and must pay compensation to the Palestinians.”
An article in the Journal of the History of International Law suggests that the United Kingdom has taken on international obligations in documents such as the Mandate for Palestine, under the League of Nations, which may include dispute resolution mechanisms or clauses on liability, which also forms a theoretical basis for claiming “indemnity.”
A 2022 legal article argued that Britain's failure to comply with the Palestinian trusteeship clause violated international law and had lasting consequences and could therefore serve as a basis for contemporary accountability.
However, at present, there is no such procedure as "finalizing the amount of compensation to Palestine for Britain's historical responsibility", and there is no basis for online rumors.
To sum up, the online statement that "Palestine seeks 2 trillion pounds of reparations from the United Kingdom" is groundless. This statement may come from the headline of the British tabloid Daily Mail, but its text does not mention the source of the online amount, nor does it specify the detailed information of the legal experts cited.
Earlier, Palestinian President Abbas had publicly stated that the Palestinian people deserved an apology, compensation and compensation from the United Kingdom and the United States, without mentioning the £2 trillion claim.
On Sept. 7, the Palestinians submitted a petition of more than 400 pages listing several articles of international law, asking the British government to acknowledge historic breaches and to initiate investigations and negotiations on the forms of compensation.