Morocco called for a full ceasefire in Lebanon and respect for the country’s sovereign integrity and the dignity of its citizens during the international conference for Lebanon held by France’s President Emmanuel Macron on Thursday in Paris.
Fouad Yazourh, Morocco’s ambassador and director of bilateral relations at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said during the conference that Lebanon “cannot and should not continue to bear the burden of conflicts sparked elsewhere, under the shadow of regional agendas, leaving the country drained.”
He applauded Macron’s initiative to hold the conference amid the ongoing military operations that have lately been happening “on an unprecedented scale” since 2006.
Yazourh asserted that the Lebanese people have the right to aspire to peace, security, and long-overdue tranquility. He called on the international community to act to achieve a complete ceasefire under UN supervision, to ensure the safe return of displaced people with real protections, and to provide essential humanitarian aid.
The Moroccan envoy also urged international and Lebanese organizations to oversee rehabilitation activities.
Yazourh said it is not enough to manage crises as burdens but rather it is necessary to find definitive solutions. The Palestinian question is “central to this impasse.”
He reiterated Morocco’s position that any long-term solution in the region depends on a two-state solution, with an independent Palestinian state that includes both Gaza and East Jerusalem as its capital. As King Mohammed VI has repeatedly stated, he said, there will never be lasting security or stability in the region without that.
He asserted that political gridlock over the Palestinian issue is at the heart of the Middle East’s conflicts. Reaffirming Morocco’s solidarity with Lebanon, Yazourh urged reason and diplomacy to cease hostilities in Lebanon and Gaza, “coupled with a political process that lays the groundwork for a reasonable and stable peace throughout the region.”