Full text of royal speech at al-Quds committee meeting
Morocco-Palestine, Politics, 1/25/2002

Morocco's King Mohammed VI, chairman of Al-Quds Committee, delivered a speech at the opening session of the meeting of Al-Quds Committee held in Marrakesh this Friday.

Here follows the full text of the royal speech:

"Praise be to Allah only Peace and Prayer be upon Allah's Prophet His kith and Kin

Your Excellencies,

Ladies and gentlemen,

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.

In this regard, I strongly condemn 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.

I seize this opportunity to reiterate to His Excellency 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 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.

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.

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.

Making a pretext of tenuous excuses and justifications, the Israeli Prime Minister has foiled 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.

The Israeli aggressive practices can no longer go unheeded by the international community. The latter must take all its responsibilities, because the impact of this explosive situation will not be confined to the Middle East region only, but may - God forbid - spread well beyond.

No one can predict the likely repercussions of such horrible practices: Religious sites are desecrated, buildings and houses are destroyed on the heads of their owners, defenseless innocent people are murdered, towns are besieged, a whole people are subjected to oppression and made to starve, the legal Palestinian Authority is under threat. This crime and this aggression do nothing but heighten the feelings of Arab and Islamic peoples in support of their brethren.

Accordingly, 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.

There is no way to achieve the kind of peace we are seeking except by means of negotiation and dialogue which are regarded as the ideal way for the implementation of international legality, and also through the immediate and unconditional return to the negotiating table, and through compliance in good faith with the resolutions of international legality and with the agreements and initiatives that have been accepted by all parties concerned.

As for the brotherly Palestinian people, the claimants of a just and internationally recognized cause, they have demonstrated, under the leadership of our brother, H.E. President Yasser Arafat, that they are proceeding in good faith on the path of dialogue and negotiation, in order to recover their legitimate rights, and to live in coexistence with their neighbors.

We do confirm to the world that we are committed to peace, for which we have opted out of faith and out of conviction and that we shall stick to it until such time as a just, comprehensive and lasting solution is achieved and as the Palestinian people establish their independent state, with Al Quds Al Shareef as its capital. We trust that God Almighty will crown their struggle with a resounding victory.

"It is incumbent upon Us to help believers," veracious is Almighty God.

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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