Speech of HM the King at closing session of 20th meeting of Al-Quds Committee

PERSISMA, Marrakech – HM King Mohammed VI, Chairman of Al-Quds Committee, gave a speech, Saturday in Marrakech, at the closing session of the 20th meeting of Al-Quds Committee.

Here is the full text of the Royal speech:

“Praise be to God

May Peace and blessings be upon the Prophet, His Kith and Kin

Your Excellency Mr. Mahmoud Abbas, President of the Palestinian National Authority, Your Excellency Mr. Secretary-General of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation,

Your Highnesses,

Your Excellencies,

As this twentieth session of the Al-Quds Committee comes to a close, I should like to commend the spirit of constructive consultation and sincere, brotherly frankness which has characterized its proceedings.

I also want to say how much I appreciate the keenness shown by all Committee members in the final communiqué to ensure the protection of Al-Quds al-Sharif and achieve strong mobilization to uphold the just cause of our Palestinian brothers.

I should like to take this opportunity to reiterate my determination to support the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people, including their right to a fully sovereign, independent State, with Al-Quds al-Sharif as its capital.

The achievement of this foremost goal requires unity of ranks, effective action and the highest degree of solidarity and commitment.

As Chairman of the Al-Quds Committee, and consistent with the pledge made to our Palestinian brothers and to their legitimate National Authority, under the guidance of brother Abu Mazen, I promise to pursue my efforts to support the steadfast struggle of the Palestinian people and to push forward the peace process, whose key element is a fair settlement of the issue of Al Quds al-Sharif.

The road to peace is as long as it is arduous. It requires tremendous sacrifices on all sides.

It also calls for consensus, realism and courage to make crucial, painful decisions, allowing reason, wisdom, hope and the quest for life to prevail over hatred, extremism, despair and aggression, for the benefit of the peoples in the region.

Seen from this perspective, our meeting today sends out a message to the world, saying that we are a nation committed to peace and to the alliance of civilizations and cultures.

Our deep commitment to the identity of Al-Quds does not merely stem from the holy city’s status as the First Qibla and the Third Holy Shrine. In fact, we want Al-Quds to remain what it has always been: a rallying symbol of the monotheistic religions and a haven of coexistence between its inhabitants, in an environment of peace and concord.

Wassalamu alaikum warahmatullah wabarakatuh.”