The consultant and expert in international law, lawyer Muhammad Al-Subaihi, revealed the real motive behind Britain’s failure to recognize the Palestinian state, despite the British House of Commons’ decision to recognize the Palestinian state, and Britain also abstained from voting in the United Nations General Assembly to recognize the Palestinian state.
Al-Subaihi said that the mandate issued by the League of Nations in 1922 granted Britain guardianship over Palestine in all administrative, political, and military affairs, and there was a civil administration under the supervision of the British High Commissioner, including the Palestinian Monetary Authority, which is like a central bank, and it issued the first pound. A Palestinian, with the approval of the Mandatory Authority, to have an equal cover of gold.
He added that the balance on May 15, 1948 was approximately 138 million pounds, and Britain, before ending the mandate, froze all the funds of the Palestine Monetary Council under a law called (the British Financial Defense Act), which is worth a thousand tons of gold and sent it to London, and experts estimate the value of this money. Currently, it is in the range of 70-80 billion dollars, while its cumulative value over the 72 years of its seizure exceeds 6 trillion dollars.
Al-Subaihi stated that in 1950, the Jordanian government returned to Britain the Palestinian pounds it had and obtained its value in gold, and so did the Israeli occupation.
He pointed out that Israel’s recovery of its Palestinian pounds in gold, as well as Jordan’s, has left the deposits of the Palestinian Monetary Authority with Britain until now, awaiting the existence of a legal successor to the government of Palestine. If Britain recognizes the Palestinian state, the Palestinian Authority, or the body that will be the legitimate representative of the Palestinian state, will become the legal successor to the government of Palestine and the Palestinian Authority.
The Palestinian currency before 1948, and Britain must return to it the Palestinian deposits with interest accumulated over the past 72 years, or at a minimum their value in gold, which amounts to 80 billion dollars at today’s price, as the value of the Palestinian pound today is about 800 dollars, otherwise it will face cases before the British and international courts.
He stressed that returning Palestinian funds to the representative of the Palestinian state may mean the bankruptcy of the British treasury, or at a minimum, a financial catastrophe whose effects will last for many years.