British MP Jeremy Corbyn skips Balfour Centennial dinner with Netanyahu

CAIRO - 01 November 2017: Britain's Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn has announced his refusal to attend a dinner in London slated for next Thursday with Netanyahu to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the Balfour declaration.

Corbyn is known for being a strong supporter of the Palestinian cause and a staunch critic of Israel and the western policies that support the occupation of Palestine.

"Corbyn shows little sign of accepting Israel's right to exist," commented the British newspaper Telegraph, criticizing Britain's Labor Party leader Jeremy Corbyn for refusing to attend the said dinner.

In his capacity as the leader of the largest opposition party in the country, Corbyn had earlier received an invitation from British Prime Minister Theresa May. May invited the Israeli prime minister as well to visit London on Wednesday to attend an official dinner. The dinner will be held to celebrate the centenary of the Balfour declaration.

"Corbyn's decision to decline the invitation aroused further questioning of his stance against Israel, taking into account that the dinner is not set to support the current government in Tel Aviv, nor to show any commitment to any political future, or object to the demands of the Palestinians’ demands to establish their state. It only stands as an approval for Israel’s existence, the homeland for a persecuted people who faced genocide in Europe over 70 years ago," the Telegraph newspaper report read.

Britain's left-wing leader is a politician who has been the leader of the opposition since 2015 and the member of parliament for Islington North since 1983. As an MP, Corbyn backed every significant left-wing cause, rebelling against his party's leadership in more than 500 votes in the House of Commons. Corbyn participated in campaigns against Britain to give up its nuclear weapons.

Furthermore, he was a consistent opponent of the Middle East policies supported by successive U.S. and Israeli governments. Corbyn was close to Tony Blair, Labor’s leading left-wing figure in the 1980s and 1990s.