King Mohammed, chairman of al-Quds committee, calls for joint action to protect holy city
Morocco-Palestine, Politics, 9/3/2002

Morocco's King Mohammed VI, chairman of al-Quds Committee, has called for a joint action to protect the holy city of Al-Quds (Jerusalem) which is at the core of the Middle East conflict.

The sovereign sent these messages in view of the serious developments the Palestinian issue is going through and especially Israeli attempts to alter the situation of the sacred shrines in holy Al-Quds, and part of the tireless and continuous efforts the sovereign exerts at the service of the Palestinian cause, the statement said.

King Mohammed VI urged Islamic heads of state to conduct a joint action in the frame of their shared responsibility to save the holy city from the destruction danger looming on Islamic and Christian shrines and underlined the need to activate the implementation of the Al-Quds committee decisions, the statement said.

The Al-Quds committee, which is chaired by the Moroccan sovereign, comprises Palestine, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Iran, Pakistan, Algeria, Egypt, Syria, Nigeria, Tunisia, Bangladesh, Guinea, Jordan, Lebanon and Senegal. The committee held its latest session in January 2002 in Marrakesh.

An off-shoot of the Organization of Islamic conference, the committee, was set up in 1973 following the arson of Al-Aqsa mosque. It seeks to protect the Islamic and Arab civilization features in the city, occupied and annexed by Israel.

In the message to the US president, the sovereign hailed the efforts made by the United States in a bid to find a solution to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, noting that the deteriorating situation is heralding serious consequences that might negatively impact on the whole region, if decisive initiatives are not made to stop this drift and give a new chance to peace. The monarch insisted on the sensitive issue of the holy city of Al-Quds which is at the core of the conflict prevailing in the region and on the importance and sacredness of this city for more than one billion Muslims.



King Mohammed VI called the US president to intervene personally to pressure the Israeli government give up its plan on Al-Quds and to spare the region violence.

The sovereign sent a similar message to the president of Russia, a cosponsor of the peace process, calling him to take moves to lead Israel to abstain from implementing its plan targeting the Judaization of sacred shrines in Al-Quds.

Given the role played by Europe in the peace process, King Mohammed VI sent to the European Union chairmanship a message explaining the reality of the tragic situation the region is plunged into and urging Europe to act through the reactivation of the Barcelona process to avoid a further degradation of the situation and contain its impact on security and stability in the Mediterranean region.

In his message to Pope John Paul II, the sovereign underlined the pope's spiritual role and the prestige he enjoys within the Christian world as well as the efforts he makes to establish peace in the Middle East. He informed him of the Muslims' concerns over the dangers threatening the Christian and Muslim holy shrines in Al-Quds and urged him to conduct moves to stop the implementation of the Israeli plans.

King Mohammed VI underscored in his message to Kofi Annan the UN role in containing the serious situation in the Palestinian territories and stressed the need to make Israel abide by the UN resolutions related to the maintaining of the city's status, as stipulated in the decisions of the General Assembly and Security Council.

In the message sent to Israeli prime minister, King Mohammed VI said Islamic states remain attached to negotiations as the unique option in order to establish peace and security in the Middle East region and reject the policy of fait accompli.

The sovereign said he deems that the Israeli attempts to harm the holy shrines and alter their characteristics will only lead to the continuation of violence and the annihilation of any hope to reach a genuine and fair peace, enabling the coexistence of all the peoples of the region.

Insisting that the issue of Al-Quds is at the core of the Middle East conflict, the sovereign asserted that any act envisioned by the Israeli government that is likely to alter the characteristics of the holy city shall be rejected by the Islamic Ummah and by the international community.

Previous Stories:
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