Israeli Warship’s Morocco Stop Sparks Protests Amid Rising Tensions

The Israeli navy ship INS Komemiyut made a stopover on June 6 and 7 in Tangier Med to refuel and resupply, the Israeli economic newspaper Globes reported this week. The Vessel Finder website confirmed the information, noting that the presence of the 90-meter-long warship was reported at the Tangier Med 1 terminal after leaving the shipyards in Pascagoula, United States.

The stopover of this Israeli ship in the port of Tangier Med has provoked angry reactions from Moroccans. In a statement, the Moroccan Front for Support of Palestine and Against Normalization with Israel denounced the "complicity" of the Moroccan authorities, accusing them of not having "followed the example of Spain" which refused in May the stopover in Cartagena of the Danish cargo ship Marianne Danica transporting 27 tons of explosives from Madras (India) to Haifa.

Many Moroccans are against the normalization of relations with Israel. According to data published in June 2024 by the Arab Barometer, the number of Moroccans supporting this normalization has dropped considerably, from 31% in 2022 to 13% this year. "While some key aspects of the relationship between Israel and Morocco have not been affected by the war in Gaza (bilateral trade and military cooperation), other important areas have been undermined, including diplomatic relations, official visits and tourism," says a report by the Israeli National Institute for Security Studies, published on June 17.

"Israel would do well to remember that Morocco’s support for the Palestinians can go beyond words," the study notes. The two countries normalized their relations in December 2020 as part of the Abraham Accords, under the auspices of the United States under Trump. Since then, Rabat and Tel Aviv have strengthened their military cooperation. In 2023, Israel became Morocco’s third arms supplier, behind the United States and France, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI).