By Trista Youssef

Rabat – King Mohammed VI sent a message to the chairman of the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People, Cheikh Niang, on Thursday.

The King reiterated Morocco’s support for Palestine, describing Moroccan and Palestinian ties as an “emotional relationship which is deeply rooted in the imagination of Moroccans, as individuals and as a nation” in his speech.

King Mohammed VI also referred to his aid program to Gaza in June, which included 113 tons of aid to the Palestinian people. Morocco also provided medical assistance to Palestinians suffering from the May 14 violence when Israeli forces killed 62 Palestinians and injured hundreds following Palestinian protests against the US recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.

“The Palestinian struggle for freedom and independence and for the establishment of an independent Palestinian state, with East Jerusalem as its capital, has lasted all these years due to the lack of justice, to widespread frustration and to the suffering caused by occupation and injustice,” stated King Mohammed VI.

The King’s speech honors Palestine’s 40th International Solidarity Day. The UN General Assembly has recognized November 29 since 1978, as the day marks the UN General Assembly’s adoption of the Partition Plan for Palestine on November 29, 1947.

Palestinian government spokesperson Yousef al-Mahmoud called on the international community to support Palestinians in ending Israeli occupation.

“International silence on the occupation and its crimes only encourages Israel to continue violating international resolutions and laws,” said al-Mahmoud on Thursday.

Palestinian UN ambassador Riyad Mansour also stated on Thursday’s anniversary, “The international community cannot continue to decry the violation of Palestinian rights and destruction of the two-state solution without acting to end this unlawful situation.”