Moroccan King Praises HH the Emir's Efforts on Palestinian National Reconciliation

Doha, February 26 (QNA) - Moroccan Monarch HM King Mohammed VI praised the continued efforts of HH the Emir of Qatar Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, to push forward the Palestinian national reconciliation as being among primary objectives of the joint Arab action. This came in the King's speech at the opening session of the International Conference for the Defense of Jerusalem, held in Doha, and delivered on his behalf by the Moroccan Prime Minister Abdullah Benkirane. HM King Mohammed VI stressed that the participation of political, religious, human rights and media elite in this forum embodies shared will to lift one of the chronic challenges of world peace in the Middle East. He said that the importance of this international conference comes from being held in hard regional and international conditions characterized by disturbing stumble of the peace process due to the intransigence of the Israeli authorities and its constant systematic violations of the occupied Palestinian territory, as well as it plans aimed at violating the sanctities of Jerusalem and its cultural, archaeological and religious sites, especially Al Aqsa Mosque. He explained that all these practices are flagrant violation of international legitimacy resolutions and the provisions of international law that considers East Jerusalem as an integral part of the Palestinian territories occupied since 1967. King of Morocco stressed that the illegal and unilateral practices in order to change the status of Jerusalem like excavations and the storming of the Al Aqsa Mosque yards, especially the Mughrabi Gate, the settlements, the confiscation of land and property, and all operations aimed at the Judaization of the holy city, undermine the efforts for reaching a settlement based on the two-state solution. They also deepen the gap between the concerned parties, serve only the extremist tendencies, threaten the security and stability in the region and push it towards more tension and violence. He stressed the need for a firm move by the international community and its effective powers to compel Israel to halt these expansion schemes and aggressive practices. (QNA)