King Mohammed renews support to Arafat, urges international action in middle east
Morocco-Palestine, Politics, 1/25/2002

Morocco's King Mohammed VI, chairman of Al-Quds Committee, renewed this Friday support to Palestinian president Yasser Arafat and urged for an immediate and firm action of the international community to rescue the Middle East region and the world at large.

Opening a meeting of Al-Quds committee, the sovereign said "I would like from the outset, to pay tribute to our brother, Chairman Yasser Arafat and to assure him of our consideration and solidarity for his resistance and steadfastness", before strongly condemning "the unjust blockade which is being imposed upon him by the Israeli occupation authorities and which prevented him form joining us, as he has always done, in this meeting of the Al-Quds Al-Shareef Committee."

The sovereign also reiterated to "Chairman Yasser Arafat and to the international community, that our support for him and for the Palestinian Authority shall go on uninterruptedly and that we shall extend our full backing to the brotherly Palestinian people, until their just claims materialize and their independent state is established, with Al Quds Al-Shareef as its capital."

The king urged the international community to take immediate and firm action to rescue the middle east region and the whole world stating "it has become obvious and of paramount urgency for the international community, particularly the Security Council and the co-sponsors of the peace process, to take immediate and firm action, to rescue the whole region and the world at large from tragedies which can actually be averted if an effort is made to bring Israel to comply with international legality."

"The serious situation in the Palestinian territories which has deteriorated in an unprecedented manner, to the extent that it has become intolerable, makes it incumbent upon us to take firm action to support our Palestinian bothers and to provide them with the necessary impetus so that they feel that they are not left alone in the face of arrogance and aggression", the King told representatives of the 16 member-countries in Al-Quds Committee, an arm of the Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC).

"This is a critical juncture which requires a commitment to realism and a sense of responsibility. It calls for every step to be taken to kindle the human conscience in order to stand on the way of those who triggered off the tragedy that is besetting innocent Palestinians every day", he went on.

The sovereign further stated "the policy of aggression being carried out by the Israeli authorities is pushing the whole region into the unknown. Israel's persistence in its practices, which are logically and legally unacceptable, will have dire consequences on international security and stability. The policy followed by the Israeli Government, on the basis of sheer force will not solve any issue; it will rather generate tragedies and lead to the exacerbation of violence which has never provided a sound basis to work out equitable solutions".

King Mohammed VI also accused the Israeli prime minister of "making a pretext of tenuous excuses and justifications" to foil "all initiatives supported by the international community, chief among them, the Mitchell Report and the George Tenet Initiative, which actually complement each other". "Instead of responding positively to these initiatives and to the other international steps, Sharon chose rather to undermine them, through the use of military might with a view to weakening the Palestinian authority and destroying its symbols and its institutions. He would thus ruin the very foundations of dialogue and negotiation as the ideal civilized means - to which the Islamic Ummah has always been committed - to foster peace in the region, in accordance with international legality."

Previous Stories:
  King Mohammed receives Palestinian president's envoy   (1/22/2002)
  King Mohammed convenes al-Quds committee meeting friday   (1/22/2002)
  Moroccan association holds series of events in support of Palestinian people struggle   (1/17/2002)

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