Morocco, US Discuss Cooperation in Security, Regional Defense

US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken (Reuters)
US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken (Reuters)
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Morocco, US Discuss Cooperation in Security, Regional Defense

US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken (Reuters)
US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken (Reuters)

US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken held a telephone conversation with Moroccan Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita, during which he praised Morocco's commitment to peace and security in the Middle East region.

Blinken tweeted that they discussed the strong bilateral, regional security and defense cooperation.

"We also discussed my recent trip and meetings with Egyptian, Israeli, and Palestinian leaders."

A statement by the US State Department spokesman Ned Price stated that Blinken, who is on tour in the Middle East, discussed with Bourita "shared priorities in the bilateral relationship and efforts to advance regional stability."

Blinken and Bourita also discussed his recent travel and engagements with Egyptian, Israeli, and Palestinian leaders, during which he called for de-escalation and an end to the cycle of violence.

The Secretary commended the Foreign Minister for Morocco's commitment to promoting peace and security in the region, including Morocco's participation in the Negev Forum.

Earlier, the US commended Morocco's role, under King Mohammed VI, Chairman of the al-Quds Committee, in supporting the Palestinian people and advancing a two-state solution and peace in the Middle East region.

Price indicated, during a press conference at the Washington Foreign Press Center, that Morocco has a unique relationship with the Palestinians.

"We appreciate Morocco's role in providing aid and assistance to the Palestinian people and to supporting a two-state solution, something that, of course, is at the center of all of our efforts in the region as well," asserted Price.



WHO Sends Over 1 Mln Polio Vaccines to Gaza to Protect Children 

Displaced Palestinians, who fled their houses due to Israeli strikes, look out from a window as they take shelter, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip, July 24, 2024. (Reuters)
Displaced Palestinians, who fled their houses due to Israeli strikes, look out from a window as they take shelter, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip, July 24, 2024. (Reuters)
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WHO Sends Over 1 Mln Polio Vaccines to Gaza to Protect Children 

Displaced Palestinians, who fled their houses due to Israeli strikes, look out from a window as they take shelter, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip, July 24, 2024. (Reuters)
Displaced Palestinians, who fled their houses due to Israeli strikes, look out from a window as they take shelter, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip, July 24, 2024. (Reuters)

The World Health Organization is sending more than one million polio vaccines to Gaza to be administered over the coming weeks to prevent children being infected after the virus was detected in sewage samples, its chief said on Friday.

"While no cases of polio have been recorded yet, without immediate action, it is just a matter of time before it reaches the thousands of children who have been left unprotected," Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in an opinion piece in Britain's The Guardian newspaper.

He wrote that children under five were most at risk from the viral disease, and especially infants under two since normal vaccination campaigns have been disrupted by more than nine months of conflict.

Poliomyelitis, which is spread mainly through the fecal-oral route, is a highly infectious virus that can invade the nervous system and cause paralysis. Cases of polio have declined by 99% worldwide since 1988 thanks to mass vaccination campaigns and efforts continue to eradicate it completely.

Israel's military said on Sunday it would start offering the polio vaccine to soldiers serving in the Gaza Strip after remnants of the virus were found in test samples in the enclave.

Besides polio, the UN reported last week a widespread increase in cases of Hepatitis A, dysentery and gastroenteritis as sanitary conditions deteriorate in Gaza, with sewage spilling into the streets near some camps for displaced people.