Rabat – During a phone call today with President of Palestine Mahmoud Abbas, King Mohammed VI vowed that his and Morocco’s position on the Palestinian cause remains unchanged.
Despite Morocco’s decision to normalize ties with Israel, King Mohammed VI said his position on Palestine, which he “inherited from his father,” the late King Hassan II, is consistent and unchanging.
The King assured that “Morocco always places the Palestinian issue in the rank of the Moroccan Sahara issue, and that Morocco’s work to consolidate its Moroccanness will never be, neither today nor in the future, at the expense of the Palestinian people’s struggle for their legitimate rights.”
He stressed to Abbas that Morocco supports a solution based on two states living side by side in peace and security. Negotiations between the Palestinian and Israeli parties remain the only way to reach a final, lasting, and comprehensive settlement of this conflict, the King said.
The King also emphasized the need to preserve the special status of Jerusalem and respect the freedom of followers of all three monotheistic religions to observe their faith. He also underlined the need to protect the Islamic character of Jerusalem and the sanctity of Al-Aqsa Mosque.
The report of King Mohammed VI’s phone call with the Palestinian leader came after US President Donald Trump announced on Twitter that Morocco agreed to normalize diplomatic ties with Israel.
Morocco is the fourth country in the Arab world to do so, after the UAE, Bahrain, and Sudan. The normalization deals are part of Trump’s “Abraham Accords” for peace in the Middle East.
In a separate tweet, Trump also recognized Morocco’s sovereignty over Western Sahara.
Trump also held a phone call with King Mohammed VI and informed the monarch of the United States’ decision to open a consulate general in Dakhla, a city in Morocco’s southern provinces.
