Israeli intransigence jeopardizes Mideast stability says Maghreban leaders
Morocco-Tunisia, Politics, 3/16/1999

King Hassan II on Monday said that the Israeli intransigence in implementing peace accords, puts in jeopardy the security and stability in the Middle-East.

"Security and stability in the Middle-East region are at stake because of the Israeli intransigence in implementing the accords concluded with the Palestinian authority," King Hassan II said at an exchange of speeches during a dinner banquet hosted in Marrakesh in honor of Tunisian President, Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, who is on an official visit to Morocco.

The hardline policy adopted by Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, has driven the Middle-East into a standstill. All efforts to revive the ailing peace process are now frozen pending the Israeli general elections next May. In his speech, King Hassan II expressed conviction that "without a just, global and fair peace --recognizing the Palestinian people's rights-- the peoples of the region will not be able to focus efforts on global economic development."

Echoing the king, President Ben Ali said Israel shoulders responsibility for the current deadlock in the peace process.

He renewed Tunisia's backing to the Palestinian people's struggle for the creation of an independent state with Al-Quds (Jerusalem) as capital.

Ben Ali hailed in this connection, the "continuous efforts" that King Hassan II exerts, as chairman of the Al-Quds (Jerusalem) Committee, for the safeguard of the holy city.

The Tunisian President urged the co-sponsors of the Middle-East peace process (USA and Russia), the European Union and the international community as a whole "to act rapidly and vigorously" to compel Israel to subscribe to the peace option, respect the concluded accords and abide by the land-for-peace principle.

Previous Stories:
  King Hassan II receives Palestinian president   (2/25/1999)
  King Hassan calls international community to denounce Israel's extremism   (2/23/1999)
  An agreement to dump Israeli nuclear wastes in Mauritania desert   (1/26/1999)

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