A Palestinian official returns to his comments on the Sahara and speaks of Morocco from “Tangier to Lagouira”

The Secretary General of the Fatah Central Committee, Jibril Rajoub, met last Thursday with the Moroccan Ambassador to Palestine, Abdel Rahim Meziane. According to the Palestinian News Agency, the Palestinian official informed the Moroccan diplomat of the consequences of the Israeli massacres against the Palestinian people, which have lasted for 15 months, resulting in more than 45,000 deaths, more than 100,000 injured and thousands of detainees, in addition to the destruction of infrastructure and homes in Gaza.

During the meeting held in the city of Ramallah, the two parties discussed mechanisms to strengthen joint cooperation between the Kingdom of Morocco and the State of Palestine on all fronts, including the youth, sports and scouting, with exchanges of delegations of young people and athletes between the two countries.

Rajoub, who also serves as President of the Palestinian Olympic Committee, praised the important role of Morocco, led by King Mohammed VI, President of the Jerusalem Committee, in defending the Palestinian cause. He congratulated Morocco for its successful bid to host the 2030 FIFA World Cup alongside Spain and Portugal, praising “the human and logistical capacities that Morocco possesses from Tangier to Lagouira”, referring to the Moroccan Sahara.

Past statements that provoked anger in Morocco

This latest statement constitutes a backpedal after Rajoub’s previous statements, resuming the Algerian position on the Sahara conflict. Indeed, last July, the Fatah leader declared from Algeria, on the sidelines of his participation in the Arab Sports Games: “Unfortunately, there is here a symphony composed by the Americans and the Israelis, integrating Israel into the region. of the Middle East, bypassing the Palestinian question. So normalization happened in the Gulf, but also here in North Africa, of course.”

Echoing Algerian propaganda, Jibril Rajoub accused Morocco of supporting Israel in the region: “In North Africa, unfortunately, you are counting on the Israelis and the Americans so that the Sahara becomes Moroccan or Algerian. Resorting to the Israelis, or believing that the Israelis can be a source of strength for one or a weakening for the other, is not true and never will be.” He supported the Algerian position on the referendum in the Sahara, adding that this regional conflict “will not be resolved by Israel”.

At the time, these statements had irritated several civil and political organizations in Morocco. The Party of Progress and Socialism sent a letter to the President of the Palestinian Authority, asking him to provide clarification regarding these statements.