Palestinian president calls King Hassan to carry on peace efforts

Palestinian President Yasser Arafat expressed the wish that King Hassan II of Morocco, will carry on efforts to unfreeze the middle east peace process.

In a message of congratulations on the occasion of the sovereign's 70th birthday, marked on July 9, the Palestinian leader called the king to continue efforts to restore the peace process and convince the Israeli government to implement all the agreements, including the Wye River accord.

Arafat also renewed the Palestinians' unshakable adherence to a "peace of the brave" and to a comprehensive and fair peace as an irreversible and strategic option, stressing that only this option will secure to inhabitants of the region security, stability and progress.

He further praised Morocco's support to the legal and legitimate struggle of the Palestinian people for a fair peace guaranteeing the recovery of their inalienable national rights, including the right to return to their homeland, to self-rule and to an independent state with Al-Quds (Jerusalem) as its capital.

Similarly, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak had sent the Moroccan king a letter expressing his positive contributions to establishing peace in the region, MAP reported.