Moroccan PM Defends Israel Deal, Citing National Interests and Royal Loyalty

According to the daily Assabah, the radical Islamists had urged the members of the national council to call for an extraordinary congress to dismiss the head of government and secretary general of the PJD, Saâd-Eddine El Othmani. In response, the latter declared that his party is committed to respecting the motto of the nation above all, and cannot renounce it in any way, since it has always supported the issues related to national sovereignty.

"The party will remain loyal to King Mohammed VI, because he is the sole guarantor of national unity. Suffice it to say that we will continue to support the country’s efforts in defending the national cause, in accordance with the principles and references of the PJD," he hammered. And the head of government to continue: "I signed the agreement as head of government, because this falls within my responsibility and you know very well that foreign relations remain a domain of sovereignty that falls directly under the king. In doing so, the second man in the state cannot in any way contradict the first personality of the state, as Abdelillah Benkirane had expressed... In the position we are in (EDITOR’S NOTE at the head of the government), we do not do what we like, but what the responsibility of the position we occupy at the top of the state dictates."

Towards Hamas, Hezbollah and Islamic organizations, El Othmani emphasizes that the content of the royal palace’s communiqué confirms Morocco’s unwavering support for the Palestinian cause.

He also denied having presented his resignation or threatened to do so, as a means of putting pressure on the national council so that it postpones the holding of its extraordinary session, thus dismissing the existence of a crisis within his party, despite the petition signed by 1000 members for the holding of an extraordinary congress of the PJD, concludes the daily.