Late Sunday, during a meeting with his Iraqi counterpart in Baghdad, Palestinian Foreign Minister Riyad al-Maliki spoke on the current situation in Palestine, and Palestinian-Iraqi relations. 

During a joint press conference with the Iraqi FM Fuad Hussein, Al-Maliki said that "the Al-Aqsa Mosque is being violated daily and the next battle is to end the Israeli occupation, just as Palestine derives composure, strength and aggression from the Iraqi people."

Al-Maliki pointed out that "Iraq is loyal to and supportive of Palestine, and Palestine will remain loyal to Iraq."

The Iraqi FM in turn announced that the Iraqi-Palestinian committee would meet in Ramallah soon, saying "There is governmental, partisan and societal support for the Palestinian cause in Iraq."

He added, "The Iraqi government affirmed the unity of the Palestinian ranks, and we need a frank dialogue between the Palestinians themselves."

Hussein pointed out the need to "unify the ranks and strengthen the Palestinian Authority, and it is dangerous to use victory to weaken it."

"We will have a meeting between the Iraqi-Palestinian Joint Committee in the coming months in Ramallah, and we need to invest the victory in Gaza and activate it politically."