King Hassan calls international community to denounce Israel's extremism
Morocco, Politics, 2/23/1999

King Hassan II denounced Israel's occupation of Jerusalem (Al-Quds) since 1967, and the Israeli policy to obliterate the Arab-Islamic identity of the city as "a religious war waged by Israeli extremists against the inhabitants of Al-Quds and the shared civilization legacy."

The King's statement came in a message to participants in an international conference on "the Future of Arab Jerusalem" which opened this Tuesday in Casablanca in the presence of Palestinian President Yasser Arafat.

The king stated that, "The unfair occupation of Al-Quds is no reason for obliterating its features," calling for international opinion's attention over the dangers entailed by the Israeli policy and over "the blatant and unfair" attempts to change the Arab-Islamic features of the city, in violation of international law and in defiance of the conventions signed by the Israeli government itself.

King Hassan II denounced the intransigence of the current Israeli government which he said evades its commitments and thinks that it will impose on the Palestinian people a capitulation in the shape of peace.

The King, who chairs the standing Al-Quds committee stemming from the Organization of Islamic Conference, warned that there will be no co-existence nor peace in this city unless the Palestinian people's right to liberate their territories and establish an independent state with Al Quds as its capital is recognized, unless all Judaization measures are canceled, and unless all attempts to exclude the other are given up.

"There is no other way to fulfill this goal than abide by the international decisions, conventions and accords concluded to this end in order to create a climate based on tolerance, awareness of all sides to the need to co-exist and to achieve common progress and development in the frame of an understanding guaranteeing everybody's rights," King Hassan II stated.

For the sovereign, the colloquy, attended by top figures, is an opportunity to inform the international opinion and consolidate the will of dialogue so as to bring the peace process out of the present deadlock.

After he insisted that the issue of Al-Quds is part and parcel of the whole Mideast peace process and that the city should remain a meeting point of the revealed religions and a space of co-existence, he called participants to deepen analysis and study, undertake a common action so that Al-Quds preserves its identity, remains faithful to its Arab-Islamic history and consolidates the foundations of its future on the basis of co-existence between the revealed religions and their common values.

The sovereign argued that the Islamic nation's concern over the city is not the result of religious extremism because Islam is not a religion of war or violence.

King Hassan II expressed confidence that hope will triumph over despair, that the number of peace champions will continue to grow and that the international community, embodied in organizations and institutions, will guarantee the rights of the Palestinian people.

The three-day conference is sponsored by the Paris-based center for Euro-Arab studies, in cooperation with the Jeddah-based OIC, the European Commission, the Arab League and the World Islamic League. It is bringing together researchers from Arab, Islamic and European countries.

Previous Stories:
  Casablanca hosts international colloquy on future of Arab Jerusalem next week   (2/19/1999)
  King Hassan II calls for greater human rights awareness in the Arab states   (2/17/1999)
  India's premier arrives in Morocco   (2/13/1999)

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