Morocco says U.S. Jerusalem decision crosses "red line"

RABAT, Dec. 7 (Xinhua) -- Moroccan Prime Minister Saad Eddine El Othmani said on Thursday that the U.S. recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel has crossed the "red line."

The status quo of the holy city is "a red line that cannot be crossed," El Othmani said during the weekly cabinet meeting, adding that the U.S. decision goes "against resolutions of international legitimacy."

He also reaffirmed his country's robust support for the Palestinian cause of establishing an independent state.

Morocco "has been and will always be a defender of the rights of the Palestinian people in their struggle to establish their independent state with Jerusalem as the capital," the prime minister said.

According to El Othmani, King Mohammed VI of Morocco, in his capacity as the chairman of the Al-Quds Committee (Jerusalem Committee), had sent a message to U.S. President Donald Trump to warn against the serious consequences of his decision on Jerusalem.

The Moroccan foreign ministry summoned U.S. charge d'affaires and the ambassadors of Russia, China, France and Britain to inform them of Morocco's stance on the issue of Jerusalem, in the presence of Palestine's ambassador to Morocco, El Othmani noted.

This approach, he said, reflects the commitment of the kingdom to supporting the Palestinian people in establishing an independent state with Jerusalem as the capital. Enditem