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Hicham Alaoui : «The context of Western Sahara is not equivalent to that of the Palestinian issue»

Moulay Hicham Alaoui, King Mohammed VI's cousin. / DR
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Prince Moulay Hicham Alaoui analyzed the normalization of ties between Morocco and Israel. He chose to deal with it by responding to voices that accuse the kingdom of having abandoned the Palestinian cause in exchange of the US recognition of Morocco’s sovereignty over the Sahara.

«Morocco does not see that the Western Sahara question and that of Palestine can be the subject of reciprocal bargaining. Both situations are sad legacies of Western colonialism, but each has its specificity and poses its own challenges. The essential task for Morocco is to resolve each conflict in the fairest way», King Mohammed VI's cousin wrote in a column published on Le Nouvel Observateur.

«Morocco's policy in Western Sahara is done in a different framework : it offers citizenship now, and can recognize autonomy and self-administration in the future. This process to settle the conflict must continue, and can only take root in a perspective of real democratization and respect for human rights».

Moulay Hicham Alaoui

While admitting that the American declaration of December 10 «constitutes an important political gesture», he concedes that it «cannot modify international law. It is up to the Biden administration to decide : renew this decision, modify it or reject it». 

As for normalization with Israel, it «comes a long way, from a historical point of view. Since the dawn of the Alaouite monarchy, there has been a long and rich tradition of the dynasty's commitment to Judaism and Jewishness», Hicham Alaoui said. He stressed that the «current events place King Mohammed VI in the line of his grandfather and his father».

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