U.S. commends leadership of Morocco’s King, Chairman of Al-Quds Committee, in supporting Palestinian People, two-state solution
The United States on Friday commended the “appreciated role” of Morocco, under the leadership of King Mohammed VI, Chairman of the Al-Quds Committee, in supporting the Palestinian people and advancing the two-state solution and peace in the Middle East.
“Morocco has a unique relationship with the Palestinians, of course HM King Mohammed VI is the chairman of the Al-Quds Committee of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, and we appreciate Morocco’s role in providing aid and assistance to the Palestinian people and supporting the two-state solution,” said the U.S. Department of State’s Spokesperson, Ned Price.
Commenting the resumption of relations between Morocco and Israel, Price said that the Kingdom is a “leader”, stressing that ties between the Kingdom and Israel created “real benefits” for the people of both countries as well as “new opportunities for peace and prosperity”.
“We will continue to engage with Israel and other countries in the region and even beyond to attempt to broaden this circle of opportunity of normalization, and we will look for other opportunities to enhance cooperation between these countries and between Israel and its neighbors,” he pointed out at a news briefing in Washington.
On the Negev forum, the spokesperson of the Department of State recalled that the forum’s members have established working groups focused on six key areas: Regional security, clean energy, food and water security, health, tourism and education and coexistence.
These working groups “seek to advance coordinative initiatives between the founding members of the forum to encourage what this is all about: regional integration, cooperation and development for the benefit of the people of the region, including of course initiatives that could strengthen the Palestinian economy and improve the quality of life for the Palestinian people,” Price pointed out.
The Negev forum process is about building bridges and creating opportunities, he said, while underlining the importance of working to achieve a solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
In a previous news briefing, Ned Price asked a question on settlements in the West Bank, saying that these settlements are illegal.
“The Homesh outpost in the West Bank is illegal. It is illegal even under Israeli law. Our call to refrain from unilateral steps certainly includes any decision to create a new settlement, to legalize outposts, or allowing building of any kind deep in the West Bank adjacent to Palestinian communities or on private Palestinian land,” Ned Price said.
He stated further that Washington stands firmly for the preservation of the historic status quo with respect to the holy sites in Jerusalem. “Any unilateral actions that depart from that historic status quo is unacceptable.”
