chargement...
Saad-Eddine El Othmani received, this Wednesday, June 16th in Rabat the chief of political bureau of the Hamas organization, in the residence of the head of government. This was the confirmation that the visit of Ismail Haniyeh in Morocco benefits from the benediction of the highest Moroccan authorities. The privilege was given to his predecessor, Khalid Mechaal, during his visit in Morocco in December 2017.
Not left indifferent to those respects, the Palestinian declared that his travel to Morocco benefited from «royal patronage and the welcoming of the authentic Moroccan people that we consider, with all its components, as a strategic depth for our cause and the Al Aqsa mosque», says the PJD website. Hanniyeh underlined that the Palestinian delegation will discuss with the head of government and leaders of Moroccan parties.
This visit will allow PJD to restore its image toward Islamists formations, worsened after having endorsed the normalization of diplomatic relations between the Kingdom and Israel.
The visit was preceded by a phone call between Saad-Eddine El Othmani and Ismail Haniyeh on the 12th of May in the midst of Israeli offensive in Gaza. At that time, the head of government reaffirmed «the outright rejection of the Kingdom of Morocco on all measures from occupation authorities affecting the legal status of the Al-Aqsa mosque and Al-Qods Al-Sharif, violating the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people».
The warm welcome of Ismail Haniyeh confirms the centrality of the Palestinian cause for the Kingdom and its disposition to discuss with all Palestinian factions on the ground. A place that king Mohammed VI already claimed in his phone call, the 10th of December - the same day the restoration of relations with Israel was announced -, to the Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas.
Morocco walks on the steps of Egypt, Turkey and Qatar, three states that tied contacts with Tel-Aviv, although still non-official for Doha, yet keeping close relations with Hamas.
