https://arab.news/jmgmm
- Aziz Akhannouch expresses solidarity with Qatar, Syria, Lebanon against Israeli attacks
- Two-state solution ‘only way’ to achieve Mideast peace, ‘can no longer be delayed or marginalized’
NEW YORK: Morocco’s prime minister urged the UN General Assembly on Tuesday to support the push for Palestinian statehood along the 1967 borders and with East Jerusalem as its capital.
Aziz Akhannouch, whose country signed the Abraham Accords with Israel in December 2020, expressed concern for the “deteriorating situation in the Palestinian territories,” urging the UN to “mobilize” to “save the region from the cycle of violence.”
He outlined four priorities that must be pursued: “One, an immediate ceasefire (in Gaza) and a return to the negotiating table in order to put a final end to the war. Two, ensuring the entry of humanitarian assistance to the Gaza Strip and the West Bank without any conditions or restrictions. Three, promote the vital role of UNRWA (the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees). And four, implement a clear and comprehensive roadmap for reconstruction.”
He added: “We continue to believe that the two-state solution is the only way to achieve sustainable and comprehensive peace in the Middle East.
“This is the solution that can no longer be delayed or marginalized. It needs to be a moral commitment and a political, immediate request.”
Akhannouch called for the UN to define a timeframe “to ensure the legitimate right of the Palestinian people to establish a Palestinian state.”
He emphasized that there can be no peace without “a strong economic foundation” for the Palestinian people.
“We need to also promote support to the Palestinian Authority so that it can strengthen its institutions to serve its people and achieve their aspirations, and finally adopt regional security mechanisms that are sustainable based on international law and mutual respect,” he added.
Akhannouch said the holy sites in Palestine are of critical importance to Morocco’s King Mohammed VI, who is chair of the Al-Quds Committee, established in 1975 as one of the four standing committees of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation.
The prime minister added that Morocco “stands in solidarity” with Qatar, Syria and Lebanon “in the face of the attacks they’ve been under by Israel. In the same vein, we call for the adoption of peaceful solutions to disputes in sisterly Arab states — including in Libya, Yemen, Sudan and Somalia — through dialogue and consensus.”