Abdelilah Benkirane

Articles

• Former Moroccan Minister Quits Islamist PJD Party Amid Internal Tensions
  26 September 2023, by Sylvanus

  Abdelkader Amara is no longer a member of the Party of Justice and Development (PJD). On Monday, the former Minister of Equipment, Transport, Logistics and Water announced his resignation from the Islamist party after reflecting on what is becoming of the Islamists.
  "It is with a heart full of pain in the face of what the experience of the Party of Justice and Development has become that I announce my resignation from the party and all its bodies from this moment on," wrote Abdelkader (…)

• Morocco’s PJD Party Praises Hamas Attack on Israel as "Heroic Operation"
  9 October 2023, by Sylvanus

  The surprise offensive of the Palestinian Hamas movement is eliciting reactions from the Party of Justice and Development (PJD). The party led by former Moroccan Prime Minister Abdelilah Benkirane hails it as a "heroic operation".
  On Saturday, Hamas launched the "Al-Aqsa Torrent" operation from Gaza against Israel before 6:30 am (3:30 am GMT). In total, more than "5,000 rockets" were fired. This "heroic operation carried out by the Palestinian resistance is a natural and legitimate (…)

• Moroccan Opposition Leader Calls for Expulsion of Israeli Diplomat Amid Rising Tensions
  12 October 2023, by Prince

  In a context of escalating Israeli-Palestinian tensions, the Secretary General of the Party of Justice and Development (PJD), Abdelilah Benkirane, is demanding the expulsion of the head of the Israeli liaison office in Morocco. A reaction seen as an interference in the diplomatic affairs of the kingdom.
  In a statement, Benkirane demands the expulsion of the head of the Israeli liaison office, thus interfering in diplomatic affairs and attempting to call into question the constant support (…)

• Muslim Leaders Defend Against Israel Collusion Claims, PJD Chief Calls Accusations ’Conspiracy’
  18 October 2023, by Sylvanus

  Abdelilah Benkirane, Secretary General of the Party of Justice and Development (PJD), reacted to the accusations of Muslim leaders of "treason and collaboration with Israel".
  In the eyes of the Islamist leader, the accusations of "treason and collaboration with Israel" against Muslim leaders is a form of "conspiracy". "If part of these accusations proves to be well-founded, the reformist or revolutionary political movements have played a major role in it, he believes during the annual (…)

• Moroccan Opposition Leader Defends Hamas, Rejects ’Terrorist’ Label
  10 November 2023, by Sylvanus

  While the war between Israel and Hamas has been raging for more than a month now, Abdelilah Benkirane, secretary general of the Justice and Development Party (PJD), is defending the Palestinian movement.
  Like Jean-Claude Samouiller, president of Amnesty France, Abdelilah Benkirane refuses to qualify Hamas as a "terrorist" group. "Hamas is not a terrorist organization [...] we know them, Morocco knows them and has welcomed them, and just after the signing of the Abraham Accords they were (…)

• Moroccan Opposition Leader Calls for End to Israel Ties Amid Gaza Conflict
  11 November 2023, by Prince

  The Secretary General of the Party of Justice and Development (PJD), Abdelilah Benkirane, demanded on Thursday the severing of relations between Morocco and Israel. The leader of the Islamist party supports Palestine in the conflict in Gaza and calls for large demonstrations in support of the Palestinians on the streets of the kingdom.
  "It is time to put an end to this story of normalizing Morocco’s relations with the horrible criminal entity," Benkirane said on Thursday. Rabat and Tel (…)

• Moroccan Islamist Leader Opposes Gender Equality in Family Code Reform
  16 November 2023, by Prince

  The Secretary General of the Justice and Development Party (PJD), Abdelilah Benkirane, has strongly criticized the feminist movement that is campaigning for gender equality in the context of the reform of the Family Code, arguing that its struggle aims to destroy Moroccan society.
  "In marital and sexual relations between men and women, equality is not possible," Benkirane said in a communication to the women of the Islamist party, denouncing the fight of feminist associations that are (…)

• Moroccan Opposition Leader Urges King to Pardon Jailed Journalists and Activists
  15 January 2024, by Sylvanus

  The situation of imprisoned journalists, bloggers and opinion leaders is a concern for the Secretary General of the Party of Justice and Development (PJD), Abdelilah Benkirane, who is asking King Mohammed VI to grant them a pardon.
  During the opening of the PJD National Council on Saturday in Bouznika, Abdelilah Benkirane presented a political report to the members of his party. He notably pleaded for the release of journalists, bloggers and opinion leaders. According to him, the occasion (…)

• Former Moroccan PM Sparks Controversy with Remarks on Gender Equality and Child Marriage
  21 February 2024, by Said

  In a speech in Marrakech, former Moroccan Prime Minister Abdelilah Benkirane made controversial statements about gender equality and the marriage of minors.
  Abdelilah Benkirane criticized a French minister for minimizing the importance of the father in the family, stating that those who advocate equality between men and women want to "transform Moroccans into Europeans" and "eliminate sexual relations between spouses." "These couples have started to live for themselves, and they have (…)

• Moroccan Opposition Leader Criticizes French PM’s Sexuality, Sparking Controversy
  26 February 2024, by Sylvanus

  While LGBT associations see the promotion of Gabriel Attal as "progress", this is not the case for Abdelilah Benkirane, Secretary General of the Party of Justice and Development (PJD).
  On the sidelines of the ordinary session of the regional council of Tanger-Tétouan-Al Hoceima, Abdelilah Benkirane strongly criticized the promotion of Gabriel Attal. "I never imagined that things in France would go so fast, to the point that they now have a Prime Minister who says he is proud to be gay and (…)