Haniyeh warns against Israeli plans to divide Jerusalem

Prime Minister of the Palestinian Government in Gaza Strip Ismail Haniyeh on Sunday sounded the alarm against the Israeli plans to divide the occupied holy city of Jerusalem. During his meeting with a Moroccan delegation here, Haniyeh urged the Rabat-based Al-Quds Committee to convene an emergency session to discuss how to foil the Israeli designs. "All Muslim nations must join forces and develop a single strategy for protecting the Islamic identity and heritage of the holy city and liberating Palestine from the Israeli occupation," he stressed. Haniyeh thanked the leaders and people of the Kingdom of Morocco for their support to Gaza Strip during the latest Israeli aggression in mid-November, 2012. Welcoming the Moroccan delegation, he said the visit follows the eight-day Israeli war on Gaza and coincides with radical changes in the Arab region. "For example, Egypt during the last November war on Gaza was totally different from Egypt during 'Al-Forqan war' (known in Israel as the Operation Cast Lead) in the winter of 2008-2009," he explained. Founded by the sixth conference of the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) in 1975, Al-Quds Committee is chaired by Moroccan King Mohammad VI. Separately, Haniyeh received a Malaysian delegation now on a visit to Gaza to express solidarity with its residents. "Indeed, Jerusalem is thousands of miles away from you but your visit to Gaza shows that there no distance between you and us. You'll be able to visit Jerusalem after liberation God willing," he said. "The successive visits by delegations from dozens of sisterly countries to Gaza evidence to the legitimacy and fairness of the Palestinian struggle against the Israeli occupation," he told his Malaysian guests. The Palestinian question is the central cause of the entire Muslim world so the Palestinian people shouldn't be left alone in the struggle against occupation, he added. He reaffirmed commitment to the efforts aiming to strengthen the Palestinian national unity as a way to liberate the Palestinian territories.