The process of normalization between Israel and the Arab state that reached its peak during the Trump administration is not a scam, despite some pessimistic assessments in the United States and Israel, and it continues to flourish. U.S. officials say the Biden administration also recognizes and encourages the importance of this process.
Defense Minister Bnei Gantz’s successful visit to Morocco last week is a “step up” in relations between the two countries. For the first time, an Israeli minister signed a defense cooperation agreement with an Arab country, this is a further upgrade of relations between the two countries after the normalization agreement signed about a year ago.
No details were officially given about the agreement signed, but political sources in Jerusalem say that it deals with several areas: joint military exercises, the war on terror, the exchange of intelligence information, the purchase of weapons systems and more.
Morocco marched towards this “escalation” in relations with Israel and warmed relations with it even more without hesitation, despite the opposition of the Palestinians, it put its interests first.
Morocco has serious problems with Algeria that severed ties with it, tensions between it and Algeria have increased after the Trump administration recognized Morocco’s sovereignty over Western Sahara in 2020.
According to security sources in Israel, this tension has pushed Morocco to purchase anti-UAV anti-aircraft systems from Israel that are becoming the most dangerous weapon in the Middle East and several other places in the world.
Israel has no diplomatic relations with Algeria The two countries have hostile relations, compared to Israel’s warm relations with Morocco for decades, thanks to the Israeli Mossad’s secret security ties with the Moroccan monarchy and Moroccan Jewry in Israel.
Even in the Depression, when Morocco officially suspended relations with Israel in 2000, in the wake of the second intifada, secret relations between the two countries continued unabated behind the scenes.
The security agreement that Morocco signed with Israel strengthens its self-confidence and sends a Moroccan message to Algeria that Morocco has a security alliance with a strong regional power that is the State of Israel.
In Algeria, there is great concern about the security agreement signed between Israel and Morocco and the “approach of the Israeli institution to the Algerian border,” the French newspaper Le Monde reported last week.
The chairman of the Algerian National Assembly, Salah Jogil, said his country was “the target of Israeli Defense Minister Bnei Gantz’s visit to Morocco,” he added:
“Enemies are increasingly mobilizing to block Algeria’s path.”
The PA and Hamas were outraged by the visit, as Morocco recalls the “Jerusalem Conference” in the Organization of Islamic States and the King of Morocco, Muhammad VI, has good relations with PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas.
In December 2020, former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke by telephone with King Mohammed VI of Morocco and invited him to visit Israel, a few months later the king set conditions for the visit: announcing the resumption of Israeli-Palestinian negotiations and Israeli approval of his visit to PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas in Ramallah , In the end the king’s visit did not materialize.
Following the visit of Defense Minister Bnei Gantz to Rabat, the PLO Executive Committee issued a statement condemning the signing of the security agreement between Israel and Morocco and calling on Morocco to cancel it.
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Chairman of the Algerian National Assembly, Salah JogilThe statement said that “normalization with Israel is a violation of the decisions of the Arab Summit Conference and deviates from the Arab peace initiative and constitutes a reward for the occupation.”
Hamas also condemned the signing of the agreement between Morocco and Israel and called on Morocco to withdraw from the agreement.
Immediately after her announcement, the Fatah movement also issued a similar announcement.
The Palestinian anger over Morocco is great, Morocco has gone one step further and set a precedent that no Arab state that has signed the “Abraham Agreements” has done and is signing a security agreement with Israel that is perceived by the Palestinians as a common “defense agreement”.
This agreement is perceived as a strategic threat to Arab countries that refuse to sign a normalization agreement with Israel.
The PA currently maintains silence, beyond the announcements made by the PLO Executive Committee and the Fatah movement, there are no further official statements against Morocco, but there are also voices in the Palestinian camp who believe that Morocco should be suspended from the Arab League following the signing of the security agreement between Israel and Israel. Re-establish the whole concept of defense of Arab countries.