{"id":4047,"date":"2026-02-27T01:15:42","date_gmt":"2026-02-27T01:15:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/diplomatique.ma\/en\/?p=4047"},"modified":"2026-02-27T14:26:35","modified_gmt":"2026-02-27T14:26:35","slug":"benkirane-responds-to-bouritas-statements-on-the-peace-council-in-gaza-and-raises-questions-about-the-political-implications","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/diplomatique.ma\/en\/benkirane-responds-to-bouritas-statements-on-the-peace-council-in-gaza-and-raises-questions-about-the-political-implications\/","title":{"rendered":"Benkirane responds to Bourita\u2019s statements on the \u201cPeace Council\u201d in Gaza and raises questions about the political implications."},"content":{"rendered":"<p style=\"text-align: justify;\" data-start=\"3246\" data-end=\"3830\">At a time of heightened regional and international tension, <span class=\"hover:entity-accent entity-underline inline cursor-pointer align-baseline\"><span class=\"whitespace-normal\">Abdelilah Benkirane<\/span><\/span>, Secretary-General of Morocco\u2019s Justice and Development Party (PJD), has publicly criticised Foreign Minister <span class=\"hover:entity-accent entity-underline inline cursor-pointer align-baseline\"><span class=\"whitespace-normal\">Nasser Bourita<\/span><\/span> over remarks attributed to him concerning Morocco\u2019s reported leadership of an anti\u2013hate speech programme in Gaza under the US-backed \u201cPeace Council.\u201d What may appear as a routine political disagreement in fact opens a broader debate about diplomatic language, national positioning, and the sensitivities surrounding the Palestinian issue.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\" data-start=\"3832\" data-end=\"4232\">In a video posted on his official Facebook page, Benkirane questioned not only the timing but also the implications of the minister\u2019s statements, warning that they could be interpreted in ways that might undermine Morocco\u2019s image and its longstanding stance on Palestine. His intervention reflects both partisan positioning and a deeper concern about symbolic consistency in foreign policy discourse.<\/p>\n<div class=\"x9f619 x1n2onr6 x1ja2u2z x78zum5 xdt5ytf x2lah0s x193iq5w xf7dkkf xv54qhq x1k70j0n xzueoph xzboxd6 x14l7nz5\">\n<div class=\"x6s0dn4 xal61yo x1obq294 x5a5i1n xde0f50 x15x8krk x78zum5 xdt5ytf x6ikm8r x10wlt62 x1n2onr6 xh8yej3\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" class=\"xl1xv1r\" src=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/plugins\/video.php?height=314&amp;href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Freel%2F1636391194051363%2F&amp;show_text=false&amp;width=560&amp;t=0\" width=\"560\" height=\"314\" frameborder=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\" data-mce-fragment=\"1\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"x9f619 x1n2onr6 x1ja2u2z x78zum5 xdt5ytf x2lah0s x193iq5w xuk3077 xf7dkkf xv54qhq x1k70j0n xzueoph xzboxd6 x14l7nz5\"><\/div>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\" data-start=\"4234\" data-end=\"4744\">Central to his criticism is the concept of \u201ccoexistence\u201d under conditions of occupation. Benkirane argued that promoting coexistence in the current context risks being understood as an appeal directed at Palestinians\u2014implicitly urging them not to regard Israel as an adversary. In his view, any discourse on coexistence should instead address the occupying power rather than the population living under occupation. The issue thus becomes both semantic and political: who is being asked to adjust their posture?<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\" data-start=\"4746\" data-end=\"5067\">He further maintained that the conflict cannot be reduced to a temporary political dispute but remains fundamentally rooted in land, displacement, and historical rights. From this perspective, initiatives focused on combating hate speech may appear to treat the symptoms rather than the structural causes of the conflict.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\" data-start=\"5069\" data-end=\"5436\">While acknowledging that foreign policy ultimately falls under the sovereign authority of King <span class=\"hover:entity-accent entity-underline inline cursor-pointer align-baseline\"><span class=\"whitespace-normal\">Mohammed VI<\/span><\/span>, Benkirane stressed that this does not preclude political parties or public opinion from expressing views on international affairs. The remark signals a careful balancing act between institutional legitimacy and democratic expression.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\" data-start=\"5438\" data-end=\"5861\">By reiterating the longstanding opposition of the <span class=\"hover:entity-accent entity-underline inline cursor-pointer align-baseline\"><span class=\"whitespace-normal\">Justice and Development Party<\/span><\/span> to normalisation with Israel, Benkirane situates his position within an established ideological framework. He concluded by arguing that lasting peace can only emerge through the restoration of Palestinian rights, calling for efforts to persuade the US administration to adopt a fair approach rather than exert pressure on Palestinians.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\" data-start=\"5863\" data-end=\"6134\" data-is-last-node=\"\" data-is-only-node=\"\">Ultimately, the controversy extends beyond a single programme or statement. It raises deeper questions about Morocco\u2019s diplomatic messaging, its historical commitments, and the internal political dynamics shaping how sensitive international issues are framed and debated.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>At a time of heightened regional and international tension, Abdelilah Benkirane, Secretary-General of Morocco\u2019s Justice and Development Party (PJD), has publicly criticised Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita over remarks attributed to him concerning Morocco\u2019s reported leadership of an anti\u2013hate speech programme in Gaza under the US-backed \u201cPeace Council.\u201d What may appear as a routine political disagreement [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":4048,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[39,41,76],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-4047","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-africa","8":"category-middle-east","9":"category-the-maghreb"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/diplomatique.ma\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4047","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/diplomatique.ma\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/diplomatique.ma\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/diplomatique.ma\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/diplomatique.ma\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4047"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/diplomatique.ma\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4047\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4049,"href":"https:\/\/diplomatique.ma\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4047\/revisions\/4049"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/diplomatique.ma\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4048"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/diplomatique.ma\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4047"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/diplomatique.ma\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4047"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/diplomatique.ma\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4047"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}