On Sunday evening, the head of the Hamas political bureau, Ismail Haniyeh, concluded the first visit of its kind to Morocco, with news of his departure for Nouakchott to start a visit to Mauritania on Monday.
On Wednesday, Haniyeh, at the head of a delegation from Hamas, arrived in Rabat on an unannounced visit, at the official invitation of the “Justice and Development Party”, the leader of the government coalition, months after Morocco resumed its relations with Israel, last December.
A local news website reported that Haniyeh will also leave for Nouakchott on Monday, for his first visit to Mauritania.
During a visit to Morocco, Haniyeh met government officials, leaders of political parties, and governmental and non-governmental bodies.
On the first day, Haniyeh met the leaders of the “Justice and Development” party, before being received by the Moroccan Prime Minister (Secretary-General of the party), Saadeddine Othmani, at his residence in Rabat, where they held a joint meeting.
During the meeting, Haniyeh said in a speech that “the visit is under the auspices of King Mohammed VI.”
On the second day, Haniyeh discussed with the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Habib Al-Malki, and the Speaker of the House of Councilors, the second chamber of the parliament, Hakim Benchmash, on Palestinian political developments.
On Friday night, King Mohammed VI hosted a dinner in honor of Haniyeh and his accompanying delegation, at the Guest Palace in the capital, Rabat, which is usually dedicated to hosting dinner parties for Morocco’s great guests.
Haniyeh visited the “Bayt Mal al-Quds” agency in Rabat and was given an explanation about the nature of the agency’s work and its role in the occupied Palestinian city of Jerusalem. The agency is the field arm of the Al-Quds Committee, which was established by the Organization of Islamic Cooperation in 1975, and its chairmanship was entrusted to the late Moroccan King Hassan II, and then to his successor, King Mohammed VI.
Haniyeh also met with leaders of the opposition parties, “Al-Istiqlal”, “Progress and Socialism” and “Authenticity and Modernity”, in addition to personalities and representatives of non-governmental organizations.
During his meetings, he praised the position of the various Moroccan forces that he listened to during his visit to the country, and the broad state of solidarity that he touched on the side of the Palestinian people and their national struggle.
