French MEP of Palestinian origin, Rima Hassan, has confirmed that she will not backtrack on her new position regarding the Moroccan Sahara, shifting from previously supporting separatist claims to now considering the issue a regional dispute between Morocco and Algeria, fundamentally different from the Palestinian cause.
The politician, a member of the left-wing La France Insoumise party led by Jean-Luc Mélenchon, who was born in Morocco, stressed that she expressed her position “of her own free will and without any pressure.” She added that the solution cannot remain limited to the option of a “self-determination referendum,” but requires “alternative negotiating paths.”
In an interview with the Spanish outlet El Independiente, known for its anti-Morocco stance, Hassan explained that “what Palestinians are facing is an attempt at extermination and erasure of existence through settlement expansion and daily bombings,” while in the Sahara “it is a frozen conflict that remains unresolved.” She emphasized that the International Court of Justice had acknowledged historical, cultural, and legal ties between the Sahara and Morocco.
The MEP rejected claims equating the situation of the Sahrawis with that of the Palestinians, stressing that “the Palestinian cause stems from a Western imperial colonial project, while the Sahara issue is described even in UN documents as a regional conflict.”
On the referendum, Hassan noted that its failure to take place despite UN recommendations “requires exploring alternative options,” highlighting that the way forward lies in “direct negotiations between the Sahrawis, Morocco, and Algeria,” while ruling out any military solution.
Regarding Morocco’s autonomy plan for the Sahara, she stated it was not her role to decide on behalf of the Sahrawis, adding that “negotiations under UN auspices are the path to a settlement.”
Hassan concluded by stressing that her aim in addressing this issue was “to call for unity, not division,” expressing hope that the restoration of relations between Morocco and Algeria “could open a window of opportunity for resolving the conflict.”
