Moroccan Prince Calls for De-escalation After Hamas Attack on Israel

"Once again, the events of October 7 confirm the determination of the Palestinian people to survive, their determination not to disappear as happened to the Native Americans. With limited capabilities and immense determination, the ’deterrence policy’ and the myth of the invincibility of the Israeli army have been undermined," reacts Prince Hicham Moulay on X after the Hamas attack on Israel. While he considers that "these events require a clear position on our part, because resisting an occupying army is an established right," he points out, however, that "killing and detaining innocent people, regardless of their identity, is a violation of international law and is morally reprehensible." Consequently, he calls on Hamas to "immediately and unconditionally release the civilians."

According to the cousin of King Mohammed VI, these events "also confirm the double standard that has prevailed for decades in the international community." "Where are the laws, the morals and the principles regarding the policies of forced displacement and ethnic cleansing in the West Bank? What about the policies of arrest, siege of civilians and blind bombing in the Gaza Strip? Where are the principles when Palestinians are forcibly detained without trial, which amounts to kidnapping?" he questions, believing that "Israel must be held accountable for these events and their consequences."

After four days of fighting, a challenge arises. "The challenge now is to work towards de-escalation, then return to a political approach without capitulation. This path is arduous considering that Israel is under the rule of an extreme right-wing government, that Washington is deaf and that Europe is the hostage of blind political subservience towards the latter. Moreover, the two-state solution is no longer viable due to the policies of successive Israeli governments. The resolution of this conflict lies in a state for two peoples in one form or another," thinks Prince Hicham Moulay. "It is," according to him, "a painful solution that will take time but whose management has already begun. Until the Palestinians regain their rights, we are all Palestinians."

A few hours after the surprise offensive of the Palestinian Hamas movement, Morocco, the current chair of the session of the Council of the Arab League at the ministerial level, called for an emergency meeting of the Council at the level of Arab foreign ministers for consultation and coordination on the deterioration of the situation in the Gaza Strip and the outbreak of military actions targeting civilians, as well as for the search for ways to stop this dangerous escalation.