Middle East: Morocco remains committed to engage in any international effort to resolve current crisis

Morocco, under the leadership of King Mohammed VI, is willing to coordinate with all partners in a bid to engage in any international effort aimed at ending the current crisis in the Middle East.

The remarks were made by Morocco’s ambassador to the United Nations, Omar Hilale, during a high-level debate at the UN Security Council in New York.

Speaking Tuesday at the high-level debate on the situation in the Middle East, including the Palestinian question, organized by Brazil, the rotating president of the Security Council for the month of October, Hilale recalled that immediately after the outbreak of recent events, Morocco chaired, on October 11, an extraordinary session of the Ministerial Council of the Arab League.

This session was marked by the adoption of resolution 8987 which calls on all parties to exercise restraint, emphasizes the need to protect all civilians, condemns what the brotherly Palestinian people are subjected to and underlines support for this people’s right to remain on their lands, warning against any attempt to move them out of their territories, said the ambassador.

He also recalled Morocco’s participation in the “Peace Summit” which took place on October 21 in Cairo, specifying that the Kingdom called for reducing escalation, stopping bloodshed and military aggression, while emphasizing the urgent need to protect all civilians and not to target them, in accordance with the principles of international law.

Morocco further insisted on the importance of allowing the delivery of humanitarian aid, in a quick and continuous manner and in sufficient amounts for the benefit of the Gaza Strip inhabitants, as well as on the rejection of solutions aimed at displacing or deporting the Palestinians from their territory and endangering the security of neighboring countries, noted Hilale, adding that the Kingdom also insisted on the urgent need to launch a genuine peace process which leads to the two-State solution, in accordance to internationally agreed upon references.

The ambassador underlined further that King Mohammed VI, President of the Al-Quds Committee, has given his instructions to send emergency humanitarian aid to the Palestinian populations. This aid includes significant quantities of foodstuffs, medical supplies, and water, he specified, noting that this royal decision is part of the King’s constant commitment to the Palestinian cause.

In the same vein, Hilale reaffirmed Morocco’s full solidarity with the legitimate rights of the brotherly Palestinian people, based on international legitimacy and on the two-State solution as agreed at the international level, and which should lead to the establishment of an independent Palestinian state with East Al-Quds as its capital on the borders of June 4, 1967, living side by side with Israel, in peace and security.

The ambassador also noted that Morocco underlines the need to cease all measures affecting the legal and historical status of the city of Al-Quds, for the sake of peace and stability and to avoid transforming the political dispute into a religious conflict with serious consequences for all parties.

For the diplomat, the holy city must remain a land of encounter and symbol of coexistence for the disciples of the three monotheistic religions, as well as a center for mutual respect and dialogue as stipulated in the “Al-Quds Call” signed by King Mohammed VI, President of the Al-Quds Committee, and Pope Francis on March 2, 2019 in Rabat.

Hilale also recalled an excerpt from the King’s message to the participants in the high-level Conference on the protection and support of Al-Quds held on February 12, 2023 in Cairo, and in which the Sovereign underlines that Morocco, “convinced that peace in the Middle East region remains an inescapable strategic option, will keep up its efforts and leverage its capabilities and its outstanding relations with all the influential international parties and powers so as to contribute to any international effort aimed at re-launching dialogue and negotiations. That is, indeed, the only way to put an end to the conflict and achieve security, stability and prosperity in the Middle East region.”