34th Arab Summit: HM the King Urges Immediate Cessation of Military Operations in West Bank and Gaza Strip, Return to Negotiating Table
Baghdad - His Majesty King Mohammed VI called for the immediate cessation of military operations in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, and a return to the negotiating table with a view to reviving the truce agreement as a prelude to declaring a final ceasefire.
Given the alarming situation in the region following the collapse of the ceasefire agreement in the Gaza Strip, the Sovereign also called, in a speech at the 34th Arab League Summit held in Baghdad, “for the urgent intervention to put an end to the Israeli military aggressions in the West Bank, especially the demolition of houses and the forced displacement of unarmed Palestinians from the areas under Israeli control.”
In this speech, HM the King underscored the “need to ensure the continued provision of humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, particularly medical and food supplies, and make sure the provision of aid is not hindered for any reason.” He also stressed the need to maintain the role of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) and to support the Agency so that it may carry out the tasks assigned to it by the international community for the benefit of the civilian population.
In His Speech, read out by Minister of Foreign Affairs, African Cooperation and Moroccan Expatriates Nasser Bourita, the Sovereign further called for the definition of a comprehensive roadmap for the implementation of the reconstruction plan approved by the recent extraordinary Arab Summit held in Cairo, without the displacement of residents, to be managed by the Palestinian Authority under Arab and international supervision.
Based on the immutable principles underpinning the foreign policy of the Kingdom of Morocco and its historical responsibility towards its brothers and sisters as well as its positions regarding the Palestinian cause, HM the King, reiterated the need to open up prospects for a political solution in order to bring about real, just peace to the region, which guarantees the Palestinian people the achievement of their legitimate rights and the establishment of an independent Palestinian State on the June 1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital and the Gaza Strip an integral part thereof.
The Sovereign also stressed the need to “support the Palestinian Authority, under the leadership of my brother, His Excellency President Mahmoud Abbas Abu Mazen, and consolidate its institutions to meet the aspirations of the Palestinian people for security, peace, progress, and prosperity.”
“I wish to reiterate the need for national reconciliation, which remains the fundamental gateway to strengthening the Palestinian position in any future peace process,” HM the King assured in His speech.
In keeping with the responsibility entrusted to Him as Chairman of the al-Quds Committee, HM the King reaffirmed His will to continue to defend the holy sites, especially al-Quds al-Sharif, by building on the combined effect of political and diplomatic action, on the one hand, and the field work carried out by the Bayt Mal al-Quds Agency, on the other, to continue to implement tangible programs and projects.
These projects are eventually aimed at preserving the cultural and spiritual identity of the Holy City, improve the social and living conditions of the inhabitants of al-Quds, and support their steadfastness and continued presence in al-Quds, the Sovereign pointed out.
