Morocco urges respect for Gaza ceasefire amid Israeli violations

Morocco on Tuesday called for full adherence to the ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, urging the international community to ensure the uninterrupted delivery of humanitarian aid across the enclave.

"In the face of the tragedy that the brotherly Palestinian people continue to endure, the Kingdom renews its call for respect for the ceasefire in Gaza and for the entry of humanitarian assistance into the Strip in sufficient quantities without impediment or interruption," Moroccan Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita said during the General Debate of the 81st UN General Assembly in New York.

Bourita confirmed that Rabat would participate directly in the international stabilization force for Gaza by deploying senior officers to internal security forces, training Palestinian police, establishing a military field hospital and organizing counter-extremism initiatives.

He stressed that lasting peace requires the establishment of an independent, contiguous Palestinian state based on the 1967 borders, with occupied East Jerusalem as its capital, while reaffirming Morocco's support for the Palestinian Authority and the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA).

Bourita also voiced deep concern over Israeli measures in the occupied West Bank, warning that legislation enabling land seizures for the expansion of the occupation, along with violence by Israeli occupiers against Palestinian civilians, seeks "the displacement of the population and the undermining of the material basis for the establishment of an independent Palestinian state."

He further expressed "deep concern" over unilateral Israeli actions violating the sanctity of Al-Aqsa Mosque, warning that such moves fuel extremism across the region.

The Israeli army has killed nearly 74,000 Palestinians and injured more than 174,000 others since October 2023 in an offensive that has also destroyed around 90% of the enclave's infrastructure.

Israel has violated the ceasefire agreement on a daily basis since it took effect on Oct. 10.