Signed by managing director of the Bayt Mal Al Quds Asharif Agency, Mohamed Salem Cherkaoui, and president of the Moroccan Association for the support of reconstruction in Palestine, Mohamed Jamal Bouzidi, the “annex to the convention on old neighborhoods” concerns 100 targeted interventions spread over a number of properties with a budget of one million US dollars, financed by Morocco.
On this occasion, Cherkaoui said that these projects are intended to restore and rehabilitate historic buildings in Al Quds Asharif that require upgrading through localized interventions with the aim of preserving them after assessing the level of damage caused to this type of structure, while respecting the architectural character of the old city of Al Quds.
According to Cherkaoui, this involves 100 interventions spread over 10 properties in the old town, including roofs, green spaces, doors, supporting walls and damp treatment.
The projects are also designed to maintain and rehabilitate five buildings in various parts of the Holy City, from the entrance to the University campus to Beit Hanina, and to set up an outreach social service within the Al-Makassed charity hospital, he added.
Despite the constraints, he underlined, the Bayt Mal Al-Quds Ascharif Agency continues to implement its action plan for the year 2024, in line with the Vision of His Majesty King Mohammed VI, Chairman of the Al-Quds Committee, to carry out concrete projects with a direct impact on the Palestinians of Al-Quds and the institutions of the Holy City.
For his part, the president of the Moroccan Association for the support of reconstruction in Palestine praised the efforts made by the Bayt Mal Al-Quds Asharif Agency, under the leadership of His Majesty King Mohammed VI, to support the Palestinians in Al-Quds Asharif and preserve the historic monuments of the Holy City.
Palestinian ambassador to Morocco, Jamal Choubki, noted that the restoration operation in the city of Al Quds aims to preserve its Arab-Islamic-Christian identity, pointing out that the city, despite being listed by UNESCO as Arab-Islamic-Christian heritage, “is threatened by the occupation’s attempts to obliterate its identity”.
Expressing his thanks to the Bayt Mal Al-Quds Asharif Agency, Choubki also welcomed His Majesty the King’s speech to the fifteenth summit of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), held recently in the Gambian capital Banjul, in which the Sovereign called on the international community to shoulder its responsibilities in order to break the cycle of violence in the region.
