HM King Mohammed VI sent on Tuesday a message to the Chairman of the United Nations Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People, on the occasion of the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People.
Here follows the full text of the royal message:
His Excellency, Mr. Fodé Seck, Chairman of the United Nations Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
It gives me great pleasure to express once again, to you and to the Distinguished Members of your Committee, my deep gratitude and appreciation for your untiring efforts to rally international support for the just Palestinian cause and disseminate awareness of the need to help the Palestinian people enjoy their inalienable rights.
I would like to take this opportunity to reiterate the Kingdom of Morocco's constant and continued support for the historical, legitimate rights of the Palestinian people, particularly the right to establish their independent State on Palestinian territories, within the June 4th 1967 borders - a viable, sustainable State, with East Al Quds as its capital, living side by side with Israel in peace and security, in accordance with international legitimacy resolutions and the Arab Peace Initiative.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Every year, on this same day, I send your Distinguished Committee a message and I do not want this tradition to lose its significance, as no progress has been made towards establishing the State of Palestine. The aim of my message today, in such ambiguous regional and international circumstances, is to draw the international community’s attention and sensitize it to the need for it to shoulder its responsibility towards the Palestinian People, particularly with regard to the unprecedented suffering they are experiencing as a result of the other party’s obstinacy, ongoing settlement policy and attacks against the holy shrines in Al Quds Al-Shareef, thus undermining the opportunities for a two-State solution.
It has been unanimously agreed that to put an end to the Palestinian people’s crisis and eliminate the causes of instability in the region, the only solution lies in the establishment of the Palestinian State on Palestinian land, as the outcome of direct negotiations between the Palestinians and the Israelis, according to a reasonable timetable and with international guarantees accepted by both parties.
In this regard, I would like to confirm my support for all initiatives moving in this direction and seeking to promote the Palestinian State’s capacity building, develop Palestinian national economy and provide for civil society to play a major role in promoting peace and coexistence. In my opinion, however, these efforts will have a meaningful, tangible impact if real progress is made towards enabling the Palestinians to establish their State within internationally recognized borders.
If Israel presses ahead with its nibbling of land, its settlement policy, its embargo against Gaza, its violation of the sanctity of the Al-Aqsa Mosque and other holy shrines and its Judaization of East Al Quds, these efforts will be in vain and there will be a growing feeling among the Palestinian people and the international community as a whole that Israel is seeking to impose a two-system State, in violation of nature, justice and human values. This will not be acceptable to anybody. It will ultimately lead to persisting tension, insecurity and instability in the Middle East region, in addition to deepening the feeling of despair which will fuel extremism, violence and terrorism.
In this regard, the city of Al Quds should be given the attention it deserves, as any settlement of the Middle East issue should safeguard the legal status of the holy city, as an integral part of the Palestinian territories occupied in 1967. As Chairman of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation’s Al Quds Committee, I would like to tell anyone who is trying to ignore the holy city in any settlement efforts or to buy time to impose a new reality, that this will only exacerbate bitterness and stoke feelings of injustice.
As I remain strongly committed to justice, security and stability, I will spare no effort to uphold Palestinian rights in the holy city, while defending its legal status through political, legal and diplomatic channels. I will mobilize all available means and mechanisms, including the Bayt Mal Al Quds, the operational arm of the Al Quds Committee, to carry out social and economic projects, support Maqdissis in their steadfast struggle and help them live decently on their land. This will also contribute to safeguarding the human civilization heritage of the city, so that it remains a symbol of tolerance and coexistence between religions and cultures.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
We believe that the Palestinian cause is a just one and that the establishment of the geographically-connected independent Palestinian State is the dream of all free people around the world, but today, the Palestinian people, whose territories have been geographically landlocked to weaken and divide them, need to transcend their narrow disputes and rapidly achieve national reconciliation to rise to the challenges of the next phase, which requires joint efforts on the part of all Palestinians, under a single leadership.
In this regard, I would like to express my full support for all stances taken by my brother the President of the State of Palestine, His Excellency Mr. Mahmoud Abbas, as well as for his efforts aimed at recovering the Palestinian people’s inalienable rights, particularly and above all their right to be liberated and to establish the independent State of Palestine.
It is my hope that when I send my message to you next year, the peace process will have been revived and that we will be able to see the light at the end of the long tunnel of the Palestinian Cause, so that the Palestinian people may enjoy freedom, security and a dignified life, like all other peoples in the world.
MAP 29 November 2016
