Moroccan Minister of Religious Endowments Ahmed Tawfiq said that the Moroccan nation has adhered throughout its history to liberating its occupied territories, noting that the book “Dalail al-Khayrat” was the slogan for liberating the occupied cities on the Atlantic Ocean.
At the religious ceremony presided over by King Mohammed VI to commemorate the Prophet’s birthday, Tawfiq emphasized that the political manifestation of the Moroccan nation’s connection to the Prophet is embodied in entrusting their supreme leadership to the noble descendants of the Prophet, on the pledge of allegiance to preserve the land and the constants, while the emotional manifestation is embodied in their excellence in mentioning the Prophetic stations, citing the books of Moroccan scholars from the city of Ceuta, in a context that confirms that the two cities were and will remain an integral part of Morocco.
Khaled Yaimout, an academic specializing in international relations, believes that the minister's speech in the presence of the king is not merely a political message to Spain, but rather an affirmation that Morocco is currently using international channels to emphasize the need for mobilization to recover the two cities. He pointed out that combining the historical background and the religious aspect takes us back to the true borders of the Moroccan state, far from the current political borders, and stressed that this speech comes in the context of a real move by Morocco regarding its territorial integrity, and a more advanced discussion compared to previous years with Spain and Morocco's international allies from the permanent member states of the United Nations.
Yaimout added that the issue of Ceuta and Melilla has begun to emerge informally in current international discussions, unlike previous periods, and that there is an official and conscious discourse through international channels that confirms the need to mobilize to recover the two cities, stressing that they were and will remain an integral part of the political geography of the Moroccan nation and within its true historical borders, in reference to an escalating Moroccan diplomatic effort on the issue.
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Egyptian Minister of Antiquities: We have recovered 1,500 artifacts from abroad
Sherif Fathy, the Egyptian Minister of Tourism and Antiquities, announced that the ministry has managed in recent years to recover more than 1,500 artifacts that left Egypt through dubious means.
He revealed that among these pieces were 60 pieces that were recovered from the United States during the past year, stressing that the ministry will not stop demanding the return of Egyptian antiquities located abroad, and that there are specialized teams that monitor global auction markets and the dark web to search for any antiquities that were taken out illegally.
Fathi stressed that countries that possess Egyptian artifacts that have been proven to have left the country illegally should volunteer to return them without waiting for an official request from Egypt, in accordance with ethical and legal obligations. He emphasized that the ministry will not be satisfied with mere words, but will continue to take official and legal action to recover every piece that has been proven to have left the country illegally.
The minister pointed to the importance of community pressure in this matter, calling on archaeology experts and civil society to play their active role in supporting recovery efforts, considering that civil society has the ability to influence this matter through awareness and demanding Egypt’s right to recover its heritage.
