Palestine Action slash historic painting of Lord Balfour at Cambridge University in Britain

By Aysu Bicer

LONDON (AA) - An activist from the UK-based Palestine Action network sprayed and slashed the historic painting of Lord Balfour inside Trinity College at the University of Cambridge on Friday

The red paint is "symbolizing the bloodshed of the Palestinian people since the Balfour Declaration was issued in 1917," the activist group said in a statement, referencing the document in 1917 that pledged support for the formation of a "national home for the Jewish people" in Palestine.

"Britain’s support for the continued colonization of Palestine hasn’t wavered since 1917," said Palestine Action.

"Elbit Systems, Israel’s largest arms supplier, who use captive Palestinians in Gaza as a human laboratory to develop their weapons, use Britain as a manufacturing outpost. The Israeli weapons maker build weaponry in factories across the country and work closely with the British government," it noted.

"Palestine Action vows to continue their direct campaign until Elbit is shut down and British complicity with the colonization of Palestine ends," it underlined.

Israel has waged a deadly offensive on the Gaza Strip following a cross-border incursion by the Palestinian group, Hamas, on Oct. 7. The ensuing Israeli bombardment has killed more than 30, victims and injured over 72,000 others with mass destruction and shortages of necessities.

The Israeli war has pushed 85% of Gaza’s population into internal displacement amid acute shortages of food, clean water and medicine, while 60% of the enclave's infrastructure has been damaged or destroyed, according to the UN.

Israel is accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice. An interim ruling in January ordered Tel Aviv to stop genocidal acts and take measures to guarantee that humanitarian assistance is provided to civilians in Gaza.