Reconstruction & rehabilitation of projects in Jerusalem to be launched under a partnership agreement signed in Rabat

The Bayt Mal Al Quds Asharif Agency signed, on Friday in Rabat, a partnership and cooperation agreement with the Moroccan Association for the support of reconstruction in Palestine, providing for the launch of a series of reconstruction and rehabilitation projects in the Holy City of Al Quds.

The reconstruction and rehabilitation operation, concerning 100 targeted interventions in a number of properties, will be carried out under an “annex to the convention on old neighborhoods”. The operation worth one million US dollars is financed by Morocco.

Managing director of Bayt Mal Al Quds Asharif Agency, Mohamed Salem Cherkaoui, one of the signatories of the agreement, said that the operation is intended to restore and rehabilitate historic buildings in Al Quds Asharif that require upgrading through localized interventions with the aim of preserving them after assessing the level of damage incurred, while respecting the architectural character of the old city of Al Quds.

According to Cherkaoui, this involves 100 interventions spread over 10 properties in the old town, including roofs, green spaces, doors, supporting walls, and damp treatment.

The projects are also designed to maintain and rehabilitate five buildings in various parts of the Holy City, from the entrance to the University campus to Beit Hanina, and to set up an outreach social service within Al-Makassed charity hospital, he added.

Despite the constraints, he underlined, the Agency continues to implement its action plan for the year 2024, in line with the vision of King Mohammed VI, Chairman of the Al-Quds Committee, to carry out concrete projects with a direct impact on the Palestinians and institutions of the Holy City.

The other signatory, president of the Moroccan Association for the support of reconstruction in Palestine, Mohamed Jamal Bouzidi, praised the efforts made by Bayt Mal Al-Quds Asharif Agency to support the Palestinians in Al-Quds Asharif and preserve the historic monuments of the Holy City.

Palestinian ambassador to Morocco, Jamal Choubki, noted that the restoration operation in the city of Al Quds aims to preserve its Arab-Islamic-Christian identity, pointing out that the city, despite being listed by UNESCO as Arab-Islamic-Christian heritage, “is threatened by the occupation’s attempts to obliterate its identity.”

The diplomat welcomed the King’s speech to the fifteenth summit of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), held recently in the Gambian capital Banjul, in which the Sovereign called on the international community to shoulder its responsibilities in order to break the cycle of violence in the region.