Iftar in Holy City to mark launch of humanitarian aid operation by Bayt Mal Al-Quds Agency

Bayt Mal Al-Quds Asharif Agency organized Thursday an Iftar in the Holy City to mark the launch of the humanitarian aid operation deployed in the city on the instructions of King Mohammed VI, Chairman of Al-Quds Committee.

The Iftar was attended by Muslim and Christian religious dignitaries, eminent figures, the head of the Moroccan Waqf in Al-Quds, heads and representatives of civil society organizations, as well as personalities from various backgrounds.

Speaking on the occasion, Sheikh Ekrima Sabri, preacher of the Al Aqsa mosque and chairman of the Supreme Islamic Committee in Al-Quds, stressed that Moroccan aid is a noble and blessed initiative with a strong human component during the holy month of Ramadan.

This operation, carried out by the Rabat-based Bayt Mal Al-Quds Asharif Agency on the instructions of the King, is not the first of its kind, nor will it be the last, he said, adding that it is a continuation of several initiatives carried out in the Holy City and in Palestine.

For his part, Bishop Munib Younan, former president of the Lutheran World Federation, expressed his thanks and gratitude to King Mohammed VI for this generous and humanitarian gesture, which will bring great comfort to the populations of Gaza and Al-Quds, at this difficult time for the Palestinian people.

This assistance, he said, supports the Al-Quds inhabitants and their resistance until they recover their right to the establishment of the Palestinian State.

The Director of the Agency, Mohamed Salem Echerkaoui, said that the launch of this humanitarian operation in the Gaza Strip and the city of Al-Quds is an exceptional event that reflects the constant solicitude of King Mohammed VI towards the Palestinian cause.

“We are aware of the place that Morocco and Moroccans hold in your hearts, just as you are aware of your place among Moroccans who are placing the Palestinian cause at the top of the country’s great causes, through the praiseworthy efforts of Moroccan diplomacy and the Agency’s concrete action on the ground,” Echerkaoui added.

“We are working to mobilize the necessary funding for the 2024 annual plan, in accordance with our laws and regulations, while hoping that Arab and Islamic countries will mobilize to finance our projects and programs, so that the Kingdom of Morocco is no longer the only country financing the Agency, which has demonstrated, in concrete terms, its ability to multiply achievements, whenever it has the necessary means at its disposal,” argued Echerkaoui.

He stressed that the Agency’s aim for the current year is to achieve a qualitative leap in its action program, by consolidating human development, empowerment, and social assistance programs, as well as documentation and memory preservation projects, in addition to those programmed and dedicated to the sectors of health, education, trade, agriculture, heritage, youth, sport, children, and women.

Echerkaoui pointed out that the Agency, which has placed its 2024 annual plan under the banner of “Digital development to serve economic and social development in Al-Quds”, is aware of the potential now offered to young people and rising generations by technology and the digital world to encourage them to set up projects that generate stable and decent incomes.

Upon the instructions of King Mohammed VI, Chairman of the Al-Quds Committee, Bayt Mal Al-Quds Asharif Agency launched, on Thursday in the Holy City, a humanitarian aid operation on the esplanades of Augusta Victoria (Al Mutlaa) Hospital.

During the operation launch, Archbishop Atallah Hanna of the Patriarchate of the Greek Orthodox Church of Al Quds said the humanitarian aid to the Palestinians in Gaza and Al Quds is a light in the midst of the desolation and distress hovering in these difficult, delicate and dramatic times Palestine is going through.

The Archbishop expressed his consideration and gratitude to the King and the Moroccan people for this Royal noble initiative, with all what it embodies in terms of human values, civilization, and Arab unity.

He added that it also reaffirmed the justness of the Palestinian cause and Morocco’s support for Palestine in its legitimate struggle for freedom and justice.

He expressed thanks to King Mohammed VI for his solidarity with the people of the Gaza Strip in their painful ordeal, and pointed out that Bayt Mal Al Qods Asharif Agency has become a pioneer in the service of Al Qods and its institutions.
For more than a quarter of a century, the agency has been contributing to the improvement of the socio-economic situation of the inhabitants of Al-Quds and supporting the city’s institutions.