Palestinian FM meets Moroccan counterpart in Ramallah

By Qais Abu Samra

RAMALLAH (AA) - Palestinian Foreign Minister Riyad al-Maliki on Tuesday met with Moroccan counterpart Nasser Bureita at the ministry's headquarters in the West Bank city of Ramallah.

Following the meeting, al-Maliki told reporters that he and Bureita had discussed recent developments in the Palestinian political arena and the “threats facing the occupied city of Jerusalem”.

“The Moroccan foreign minister’s presence here is a clear indication of the importance attached to Palestine and Jerusalem by the people of the Arab Maghreb,” he said, noting that Bureita had kicked off his visit to Palestine with a visit to the holy city.

Bureita, al-Maliki added, “saw today how the Palestinian people live under occupation, groaning under Israeli barriers and illegal security measures”.

Al-Maliki also praised Morocco’s longstanding support for the Palestinian cause in general and Jerusalem in particular, noting that Morocco’s King Mohammed VI was the chairman of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation’s Jerusalem Committee.

Bureita, for his part, explained that his visit to Palestine -- carried out at the king’s instructions -- was meant to affirm Morocco’s “well-founded position in support of the Palestinian people and leadership”.

“I have been tasked with carrying out consultations in these sensitive circumstances with a view to confronting the threats to Jerusalem’s Arab and Islamic identity,” he said.

Bureita arrived in Ramallah on Tuesday morning, after which he visited occupied Jerusalem and the iconic Al-Aqsa Mosque.