Rivlin. 'You can't force us to sign agreement now'
Photo: Gil Yohanan
Protest, anti-Israel speech greets Rivlin in Morocco
Knesset speaker attends Mediterranean Parliamentary Assembly, slammed for Gaza siege, policy towards Palestinians. Rivlin replies: When Palestinians want it, there'll be peace
Hundreds of Moroccan and Palestinian demonstrators greeted Knesset Speaker Reuven Rivlin, who came to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Mediterranean in Rabat, capital of Morocco. A fair number of politicians turned up to welcome the Knesset speaker warmly, but he was also met with an anti-Israel speech from his Moroccan counterpart.
Rivlin's meetings with the Moroccan parliamentary speaker and foreign minister were cancelled. However, Moroccan sources claimed all the foreign minister's meetings were cancelled, not just his meeting with Rivlin, though another source insisted the cancellation was a message to Israel.
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Rivlin was joined by MK Majalli Whbee (Kadima), who was elected last week to the position of deputy president of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Mediterranean.
During the assembly's opening session, the chairman of Morocco's Assembly of Representatives, Abed al-Wahhab Radi, slammed Israel and its policies towards the Palestinians as well as the blockade on the Gaza Strip.
As a result, Rivlin altered the speech he had planned to give. "I planned to talk about cooperation and common challenges in the Mediterranean, beyond politics and the conflict," he said. "But unfortunately, I must address the words of my Moroccan colleague. We have a 100-year-old conflict, which must come to an end not via peace agreements but in a genuine reality of peace – in cooperation and mutual respect."
"Israel is the only state of the Jewish people, and the fact that it is the homeland of the Palestinians cannot undermine this," Rivlin said. "Millions of Jewish refugees came to Israel from around the world who have nowhere to go back to. There is no other way but cooperation and seeking mutual arrangements together."
Rivlin also addressed the Arab delegations, from Libya, Jordan and the Palestinian Authority. "You must respect our right to sovereignty here and find a way of living with us in peace," he said. "You must understand you cannot force us to sign an agreement now and leave solutions for later… When the Palestinians are ready for peace, there'll be peace. Living together compels the Palestinians to make tough decisions."
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