PJD Denies Interfering in King Mohammed VI’s Constitutional Powers

Rabat – Morocco’s Justice and Development Party (PJD) has issued a statement denying its interference in King Mohammed VI’s “constitutional powers.” The party also expressed its appreciation for the monarch’s “strategic roles” that defend the best interest of the country.

PJD’s communique comes days after Morocco’s Royal Cabinet released a statement in response to the political party’s criticism of Morocco’s position on the Palestinian cause and the country’s diplomatic relations with Israel.

The Royal Cabinet described PJD’s remarks as “irresponsible excessive views and dangerous approximations,” emphasizing that Morocco’s support for the Palestinian cause is “irreversible.”

In the newly released statement, PJD “renewed its great pride in the principled and firm position of His Majesty the King, Commander of the Faithful and Chairman of the Jerusalem Committee, towards the Palestinian cause and his constant affirmation that it is at the level of the issue of the territorial integrity of the Kingdom.”

In addition, the party denied any allegations suggesting that its position is linked to any “internal partisan or electoral agenda, nor to any political fallacies or outbids, or any extortion.”

Read also: Royal Cabinet Debunks PJD Claims Over Morocco’s Position on Palestinian Cause

PJD argued that its latest statement came in the context of the party’s “direct interaction” with the statements of Morocco’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Nasser Bourita. The political party said that the Moroccan FM, “like the rest of his colleagues in the government, is subject to criticism and monitoring on the basis of the government program.”

In its first communique, PJD accused Bourita of defending Israel at regional and international meetings “at a time when the Israeli occupation continues its criminal aggression on our Palestinian brothers, especially in Palestinian Nablus.”

In addition, PJD reiterated its “firm” support for the Palestinian cause and the Palestinian people, as well as rejected normalization with Israel.

The statement also denounced the “campaign” that “a group of websites” and figures launched against PJD, adding that they have “unleashed their interpretations in a distasteful exploitation of the Royal Cabinet’s communique.”

For critics of the former ruling party, however, it is only invoking the Palestinian question as a ploy to remain a relevant political force after losing heavily to the current government coalition in Morocco’s latest general elections in September 2021.